


The Bells of Freedom

by Ronin



Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-26
Updated: 2014-06-14
Packaged: 2017-10-21 17:18:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 224,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/227670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ronin/pseuds/Ronin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ultimecia is defeated. The world is safe. Now what? Now its time to tie up loose ends and for Squall at least, figure out this relationship thing...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> _The Bells of Freedom_

_The Bells of Freedom_

 _Please note: Nope, these still aren't my characters, they belong to Squeenix. Blame them, or thank them as you see fit._

Chapter 1: Aftermath

Morning came too early, Squall decided as he rolled over in his bed and pulled the blanket up to block the sunlight streaming through his window. He should have shut the damn thing before he'd gone to bed last night.

Correction: This morning.

Too damn early to even _think_ of getting up after the party from the night before. Even though Squall didn't drink anything at the party, and wasn't hung over, he _still_ had a headache. It was ridiculously unfair.

Sighing, he buried his head more firmly into his pillow, determined to return to the blissful state of unconsciousness that he'd been enjoying just moments ago. But his mind had awakened, and it had wandered onward, replaying scenes from the party.

Ultimecia had been defeated. The world was safe, everyone had survived, even Seifer, some had said. Most importantly, Rinoa was safe as well.

 _Rinoa…._

His mind lingered over one particular memory. The balcony. The moonlight and the fresh sea breeze; stars in her eyes, night in her hair… the taste of her lips, the feel of her body against his…

One kiss had led to many, once they'd managed to steal out of the casual view of others. The Garden had returned to Balamb by then, and Squall had snuck out of it with her, using an exit route that few knew about.

They'd ended up at the Balamb Hotel, the first time he'd done anything so impulsive in his life. That first was followed by other firsts, and the promise of their first kiss was fulfilled. It was quite the most amazing thing he'd ever experienced, though he had a suspicion he hadn't actually been very good at it. He did hope that Rinoa would give him the opportunity to practice; she hadn't complained, and that left him hopeful that she would.

He rolled over onto his back groaning. The trend his thoughts had taken had left him painfully aroused, and unfortunately, Rinoa was nowhere near. They'd returned to Balamb Garden in the wee hours of the morning, and he'd escorted her to her room, reluctantly leaving her there with another kiss before returning to his own room to spend the remainder of the night alone.

But that left him with another thought, one that quelled his arousal as effectively as a splash of cold water: What now?

He'd learned how to care for someone else, had fallen deeply in love with his raven-haired client. Had discovered that being close to her, kissing her, and loving her, were _good_ things. Pleasurable things. But where did that leave them?

They had defeated Ultimecia, and the crisis was over. Did that mean he would return to simply being a SeeD? Was his commander title just an emergency interim thing to make it easier for him to do what had to be done? And if so, then did his original contract with Rinoa still hold?

 _The terms of the hire shall be until Timber achieves its independence._

Galbadia was in chaos. Timber was still occupied. Esthar was overrun with monsters. The world _had_ been saved, but there was still plenty of work to be done to put everything right again.

Sighing, he opened his eyes and stretched, yawning. Then got out of bed to take a shower. It was no use trying to sleep anymore; his mind wouldn't let him. Might as well get up. He had work to do.

* * *

Rinoa slept well into the morning, dreaming of the night before. Rolling over, she sighed as her mind replayed those events.

In particular, it lingered over the glorious moment they'd shared on the balcony, when Squall had shown her the first _real_ smile she'd ever seen on his face. That unexpectedly sweet expression preceded Squall gently pulling her into his arms and kissing her. Lightly at first, tender, almost tentative, but gradually gaining in confidence as she leaned into it and kissed him back.

Yawning, she stretched, finally deciding to wake up. An unaccustomed soreness accompanied that movement, and she smiled wistfully, recalling its cause. From that kiss, things had progressed, rather more quickly than she had thought they would.

Everything she had heard about one's first time had told her that it usually wasn't all that good and for girls at least, was actually painful. The _painful_ part was accurate, weather or not it was considered to be _good_ really depended upon one's perception. Since neither she nor Squall could be considered experts in that particular activity, she figured they did pretty well.

In fact, once she got past the pain, it was wonderful.

They learned a lot about each other as they worked their way toward that point. She learned that Squall's skin was very sensitive to touch, one reason why he always seemed to be covered, even to wearing gloves all the time. She learned that once his cool reserve fell away, he was actually very passionate…and sweet, and tender.

From her, she hoped he'd learned trust, and love. It appeared that he was beginning to. It was hard for her sometimes to remember that for him, _all_ of this was new, and if he made mistakes, it was out of ignorance rather than a deliberate desire to hurt her.

Fortunately, since they were both so new at being physically intimate, if there were any mistakes made in _that_ area, neither was aware of them.

Rinoa smiled to herself as she recalled Squall's complete fascination with her. He had appeared bent upon exploring every inch of her body, so much so that Rinoa had begun to worry that nothing else would happen. That perhaps he didn't know what to do. When she'd voiced her concerns however, he'd simply smiled sweetly at her and reassured her that he'd paid attention in health class and was perfectly aware of how everything was supposed to work. He had the theory down, but was taking his time with the practice of it.

It was just as well, as it had given Rinoa time to work through her butterflies, _and_ to do a bit of exploring on her own. It had intrigued her to see how responsive Squall was to her lightest touch. She even fancied that she felt her sorceress-self awakening as she touched and caressed her young would-be lover. Certainly, the warm tingle in her fingertips as she stroked them lightly down Squall's lean back argued that _some_ kind of power was being released, even if she wasn't entirely aware of what it was.

Squall was aware of it of course, whispering that she had magic in her fingertips. That had prompted her to kiss him deeply, awakening the as yet untapped passion between them.

Her apprehension at the pain she new was coming, his nervousness that she wouldn't enjoy what they did, that he'd somehow get something wrong after all, melted away as their lips, tongues and bodies fused.

He _did_ stop though when he heard her gasp of pain and saw her shaking with it. In the throes of that, she found it odd to be comforting _him_ , but he seemed so bothered by the fact that he was hurting her that he'd started to back off. So she'd taken a deep breath, calmed herself, and then gently pulled him into a kiss to calm and reassure _him_ , encouraging him to continue.

In the end, the pain had been worth it.

She got out of bed and headed for the shower, wondering if Squall would stop by so they could go to breakfast together. He hadn't said he would, but Rinoa hoped so.

He'd been so sweet when he'd left her that morning, obviously unwilling to leave but feeling that he should because of whom he was. He'd kissed her softly, holding her close, and while he hadn't articulated how he'd felt, Rinoa had sensed it.

She worried that he'd come by while she was showering and she'd miss him, and when she finished her shower she had to take Angelo out. By the time that was done, the morning was well advanced and she concluded that Squall had either come by and missed her, or he hadn't come by at all and had gone on to work instead. Sighing in disappointment, she headed toward the cafeteria.

In fact, he _had_ come by, but had hesitated outside her door, unsure if he should knock and attempt to wake her or simply let her sleep. She'd been so tired that morning…. _He_ was tired as well, but he had work to do. She had the option of getting more rest, so Squall decided to leave her to it. So instead, he simply placed his hand against her door and sighed, then left.

* * *

After he'd eaten a quick breakfast (and watched in mingled amusement and fascination, as fully half of the SeeDs and cadets there appeared to be utilizing one form or another of hangover remedy) Squall headed toward the lift, intending to speak with Cid. He had numerous questions, which only the headmaster could answer.

Reaching the office that Cid had moved to following Garden's conversion (and the subsequent loss of his office as it became the bridge) to a mobile base, Squall knocked on the door, hoping he was there. Fortunately, he was, and he answered the door himself.

"Ah, Squall! You're up early. I'd have thought you'd sleep in, there's nothing really important going on right now." Cid said, opening the door wide and inviting Squall to enter.

Squall walked into the office, gazing around the room, and Cid closed the door behind him. Edea stood behind Cid's desk, next to his chair, and she smiled gently, then came around the desk and approached him.

"Squall." She said, reaching out to touch his face lightly, "You look tired. You should have rested longer."

He frowned at her slightly. His memories of her as Matron were dimmed by time and GF use, and unfortunately the only memories he had with any clarity at all were of her trying to kill him and his friends while under Ultimecia's control. While he knew she was now no longer a threat, and thus didn't fear her, the collision of old and new memories had left him confused as to how to relate to her.

She wasn't his mother, though she had taken on that role when he'd been brought to her orphanage as an infant. She wasn't his enemy, not any longer. In defeating her, he'd driven out the sorceress that had possessed her. Having now killed that sorceress, neither she nor Rinoa posed any threat. She had been his matron once, but was not any longer. He didn't know what to call her now, or how to speak to her.

Gazing intently into his eyes, she asked him softly, "is there something wrong?"

"No, ma'am. I'm just… confused. How do I address you?" He asked.

A brief flash of pain flared in Edea's eyes before her features regained their calm serenity, and she answered, "As I am no longer your matron, Edea is acceptable. If you wish to be formal, Mrs. Kramer is as well."

She gazed at him a moment longer, long enough that Squall began to feel uncomfortable. While no longer a sorceress, she was still alive, and thus retained a small measure of her power. It made Squall wonder: what did she see, when she gazed into his eyes like that?

Then she leaned close to him and whispered, "You will make her a wonderful knight. Do not fear the bond. Embrace it. It will enrich you in ways that you cannot imagine." Then she smiled and patted his shoulder gently, turning away to rejoin Cid and take his hand.

 _Bond? What is she talking about? And how did she know…_

"So, Squall, what brings you to my office?" Cid asked him, shaking Squall out of his thoughts.

"I have some questions…" Squall began and hesitated.

"I'm sure you do. Ask them, and we'll see what answers we can come up with." Cid prompted.

Squall nodded, and asked his first question, "Am I still commander? Or was that just a temporary position created in order to deal with the emergency?"

Cid frowned, considering the question, and asked Squall in turn, "Do you wish to continue as commander or revert to your current SeeD rank?"

"If its all the same to you, I'd like to revert back to my current rank and just be a SeeD." Squall answered honestly.

Cid sighed then, and answered, "Unfortunately, it's not. You are now known as the SeeD commander, and like it or not, that's how you'll be seen. I'm sure you're aware that while the main threat, Ultimecia, has been defeated, there's still going to be plenty of work to do to put everything back together. You'll still be needed to command the SeeDs and dispatch them to wherever they'll do the most good."

Squall nodded, frowning. It wasn't the answer he wanted, but it was the one he was expecting.

Then he asked, "What exactly is the scope of my rank then? Do I command just the SeeDs of Balamb Garden, Balamb Garden as a whole including the cadets and noncombatants or do I command _all_ of the SeeDs in general, including the ones in the other Gardens like Trabia and Galbadia?"

"Well, for right now, since Balamb Garden is the only one that is completely intact, you are in charge of Balamb Garden only. Galbadia itself is in chaos, and Galbadia Garden is in little better shape. Trabia is destroyed, and rebuilding hasn't even begun yet. They'll both be looking to you for leadership and assistance but you'll mostly be working with whoever ends up in charge of those two Gardens. If it becomes necessary to expand your responsibility, we'll hold a conclave with the headmasters to discuss it." Cid answered him.

"All right." Squall said, sighing inwardly in relief. If he was stuck in his position as commander, at least Cid had the sense not to pile too much onto him at once, limiting his responsibility just to Balamb Garden. The sense in dumping all of this on a seventeen-year-old boy in the first place however, was still beyond Squall's comprehension. Well, the only thing he could do was his best, and if he failed… well, he just wouldn't. Squall didn't think in those terms.

"By the way, you're going to need an office to work out of. It'll make things a little easier for you to keep it all together." Cid told him, and walked toward the door, opening it and gesturing for Squall and Edea to follow him.

Xu passed them in the hallway and smiled, "Good morning Squall. Going to see your new office?"

"I guess." He answered with a shrug.

"Good. Well, I hope you like it. If you need anything, just ask. I'll be right down the hall." Xu told him, and continued on to wherever she was headed.

Squall lengthened his strides to catch up with Cid and Edea, who were waiting for him outside a door with his name on it. SQUALL LEONHART, CMDR. It read boldly in shiny brass over a black background.

When he reached them, Cid opened the door and gestured for Squall to precede them into the office itself.

Squall walked in and stopped in the center of the office, gazing around with interest. He didn't know what to expect, really, having never had an office of his own. The carpeting was plush, the pattern matching the carpet in the hall, the main color scheme wine-red and forest green. It went well with the golden wood paneling on the walls, and the large desk that dominated the room. Several large file cabinets ranked along one wall, a bookcase stood along another. A computer sat upon the desk as well as a phone and intercom system, and behind the desk was a comfortable looking leather upholstered chair. Beyond the desk was a window that had been opened to the freshening breeze, letting light and air into an otherwise stuffy, oppressive space.

"What do you think?" Cid asked.

"It's too much Cid. I mean, I just barely graduate to SeeD, now suddenly this? I'm honestly surprised that anyone took me seriously when you gave me this command." Squall said, waving his hand toward the desk.

"Well, before you go thinking that nobody will listen to you, you should know that even the older SeeDs respect what you've done. Admittedly, there _are_ those who think this an unfair privilege, but they can be dealt with. If nothing else, there's the A-level combine. Complete _that_ , and it'll put to rest any concerns that your position was not earned fairly." Cid said, then he added, "Besides, this is neither the largest nor the nicest office here. And the furniture, for all that it's in good shape, is not new. Hopefully, that'll defuse any friction which this might cause."

Squall nodded, then walked over to investigate the file cabinets, curious as to their contents. They were personnel files…for everyone. All of the SeeDs, active, inactive and deceased were there, as were all the cadets currently enrolled in Balamb Garden, along with contracted employees and support staff. The bookcase held books of course, all of the reference variety. Squall recognized some of them as textbooks he'd used in the past.

Squall had just started investigating the desk and its numerous drawers when Cid asked him, "So, what is your first order of business today commander?"

Squall looked up and frowned thoughtfully, then said, "I seem to recall a certain contract which has gone unfulfilled."

"Contract? I don't recall any unfulfilled…" Cid began when Squall interrupted him.

"I'm talking about the contract you entered into with Miss Heartilly. My first assignment? One that has been put aside due to the larger threat of Sorceress Ultimecia. Unless I'm mistaken, the terms of the agreement are that my team and I are assigned to her until Timber's independence is achieved. This makes us unavailable for further assignments until we fulfill the terms of this one." Squall explained.

Cid blinked. Squall was right. He'd forgotten completely about it. It wasn't a huge assignment, or a well-heeled client. Indeed, he'd taken it on mainly to help the girl out, not for the money, which was barely enough to cover _one_ SeeD, let alone three. He felt rather badly about putting such a difficult assignment on such new SeeDs, but honestly, that was the only way he could justify what he was charging. An experienced SeeD would have refused the hire.

"What do you plan to do then Squall?" Cid asked him, impressed at the young man's professionalism. It made him feel that he'd chosen rightly, even if Squall himself didn't realize how naturally he had taken to his role.

"I plan on finishing the job." Squall answered seriously.

"Very good," Cid said proudly. "I'll leave you to it then. Let me know when you plan to leave." Cid turned toward the door, capturing Edea's hand in his.

When they reached the door, they paused and Edea turned back, saying, "Squall, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask us." Squall nodded and they left.

Then he frowned at the closed door. Somehow, he got the sense that Edea hadn't been talking about his job.

 _Do not fear the bond…_

Suddenly, he wanted to run after Edea and ask her what that meant.

* * *

Rinoa spent a frustrating and lonely morning trying to figure out what to do with herself since Squall was nowhere in evidence. She'd taken Angelo for a walk several times, twice out on the Quad, hoping she'd run into Squall there. She'd eaten breakfast alone, Selphie and Quistis had either gotten up early (which seemed to be a habit with these SeeDs) and had already eaten, or were still asleep and Rinoa had simply missed them. Likewise with Zell and Irvine. Although truthfully, Rinoa wasn't much interested in hanging out with the lanky Galbadian sniper, and while Zell was sweet, he wasn't Squall.

Sighing, she headed toward the library. Maybe they had something good there to read.

As she walked, she worried. Had she mistaken everything about the previous night and what she'd shared with Squall? Everything had gotten so intense, she'd nearly been overwhelmed by what she was feeling both physically and mentally.

But, she was so sure she'd heard him whisper, _"I love you"_ as he kissed her in farewell that morning. Yet now, thinking back, she realized that she hadn't seen his lips move or heard his voice speaking it…. she'd heard that whispered confession in her head.

She stopped, suddenly realizing that what she'd heard in the flower field wasn't her imagination…. Squall actually _had_ silently pledged himself as her knight. Rinoa realized that was when she began to sense what he felt when she was close enough to him.

Now that they'd been as close as it was possible for two individuals to get, that "sense" seemed to be getting stronger. She'd felt his emotions plainly when he'd kissed her, and she realized that what she'd heard that morning was Squall's unvoiced thoughts on what he felt about her.

Her breath hitched. Was it possible? Was this a new aspect of her power as a sorceress? What would Squall think about this new ability?

 _He would hate it. I know he would, and he would hate me as well for invading his mind without warning, without permission._

Rinoa's eyes filled with tears and she bit her lip. Maybe it was all a mistake, just her overheated imagination playing tricks on her after what she'd experienced that night. Maybe.

Reaching the library, she fled to a dark corner and wrapped her arms around herself, taking deep breaths and trying to calm the fluttering anxiety in her gut. Experimentally, she tried to open her mind to see if she could "hear" anyone else, and sagged in relief when she found that she could not.

Maybe it was just her imagination after all.

She had just started taking an interest in the titles of the books she'd been staring blindly at for the last few minutes, when she heard Squall's voice over the intercom.

"Zell Dincht, Selphie Tilmitt, and Rinoa Heartilly. Please come up to the bridge."

Taking a shaky breath, she left the library and headed toward the lift, meeting up with Selphie and Zell as they made their way toward it as well.

"Did you guys have fun last night? You disappeared after we caught you smooching on the balcony." Selphie grinned at her.

"Uh, yeah. We did." Rinoa answered, declining to elaborate.

"Where'd you run off to? We couldn't find you anywhere." Selphie asked. After replacing the battery on her video camera, she had searched pretty much everyplace that she could think of in garden, hoping to catch up with Squall and Rinoa and finally get a good picture of them together, but to no avail. They'd disappeared like smoke in the wind.

"Ah…" Rinoa began, not willing to reveal everything that had gone on between her and Squall the previous night. _That_ was personal, private, and very precious to her. Definitely NOT for public record.

"Give her a break Selphie. She obviously doesn't want to talk about it. As long as you had fun, that's all that matters." Zell said, smiling at her.

"Yeah, that's true. So what do you think Squall wants anyway?" Selphie asked.

"Beats me. I'm actually kind of surprised he's working already. I'd have thought he'd still be resting or something. You know, recovering after being trapped in time compression." Zell said.

"He's fine now Zell. He did need a few days to rest, but that was all." Rinoa reassured them. She didn't want to tell them _how_ close he'd come to not making it through. When she'd found him, he'd looked dead. When she'd cradled him against her, she realized that he actually _was_ dead. He wasn't breathing, his heart wasn't beating… he was gone.

Somehow, after she'd collapsed into tears, sobbing heartbrokenly into the furred collar of his jacket, somehow he'd come back. She didn't know if she had somehow cast a life spell or if she'd managed to call his spirit back to him. All that she knew was that her heart was breaking, calling out to his, and by some miracle receiving an answer.

He'd slowly opened his eyes, gazing earnestly into hers, and whispered her name through dry, cracked lips. Then he'd taken a deep breath and closed his eyes again, only this time, it was in sleep.

Dr. Kadowaki had diagnosed exhaustion and dehydration, given him intravenous fluids and recommended bed rest for a couple of days. Rinoa had been there with him the entire time, refusing to leave his side. Not that he'd wanted her to go, quite the opposite.

"I still think he could have taken another day off. He can't have gotten to bed too early." Zell said.

Rinoa shrugged as Selphie punched the button on the lift for the second floor and they all followed her in.

"So, do _you_ have any idea what he wants Rinoa?" Selphie asked.

Rinoa shook her head, answering, "I haven't seen him all morning. I thought he might come by this morning to take me to breakfast…" her voice trailed off and she shrugged.

"Did he say he would?" Selphie asked. Rinoa shook her head.

"Maybe he thought it would be nicer to let you sleep? You aren't much of a morning person Rinoa, you must admit." Selphie said.

"Maybe." She said. The elevator dinged and the door opened, on the second floor. Directly opposite the elevator was another lift that provided access to the bridge.

They arrived there to find Squall alone in the Garden's command center.

Zell hopped off the platform and gave him a cheeky salute, saying, "So, commander, what's up? We goin somewhere?"

"Kind of." Squall answered, and headed toward the lift, adding, "Follow me."

They piled back onto the lift and descended to the second floor again, and then Squall took the lead, stepping off the platform and gesturing for them to follow him as he headed down the hallway toward the offices. He stopped at a door with a brass nameplate on it, and Rinoa, Zell and Selphie exclaimed at seeing his name on it. Then he opened it and invited them in.

"WOW! You got your own office? Whoo hoo! Way to go commander!" Selphie hooted, giving Squall an enthusiastic hug.

"Awesome! Congratulations man!" Zell added, thumping him on the back and ignoring Squall's glare.

Rinoa meanwhile, simply smiled, hands clasped behind her back as she watched Squall submit to his friends' affections. She glanced around the room, liking the space, but thinking that it was lacking something. The furniture was good quality and while not _new_ , was gently used.

Then she looked around, noting the blank walls, the bare desk, and realized that Squall needed something to put there; maybe a potted plant to put in the corner, artwork or photos to lend interest to the empty walls. She'd have to do something about that.

Approaching him slowly, she slipped her hands around his waist, giving him a hug. She smiled as his arms came around her and he returned the hug. He was getting better at this, not shrinking back or flinching like he used to do, though he was still a little hesitant to display his affection where others could see. It really was a bit like taming a wild animal.

"We need to have an office-warming party!" Selphie declared, much to Squall's consternation.

"Selphie…" he began, trying to divert her from that idea.

Rinoa laughed, "Selphie, some of us are still hung over from the _last_ party!"

"I know _you're_ not. Neither are you, Squall. Zell?" Selphie turned to him, arms crossed over her chest.

"Little bit." He admitted with a grimace, holding his fingers a short distance apart.

Squall rolled his eyes and decided to redirect the conversation to the reason he'd called them into his new office in the first place.

"Selphie, no party. I called you guys in here for a reason." Squall said.

Selphie pouted, with Zell snorting at her reaction before asking Squall, "So what's the reason? We're done aren't we? Ultimecia's dead."

"We're done with _that_ ," Squall said, "but we still have unfinished business to wrap up."

"Unfinished business? What are you talking about?" Selphie asked, confused.

"We still have an open contract with Miss Heartilly here. We haven't achieved our objective, so the terms of the agreement still hold." Squall said.

Rinoa frowned. Why was he suddenly being so formal? His arms were still around her though, so apparently he didn't feel the need to distance himself from her physically, despite his formality.

Then she began to worry. She hadn't thought about her contractual agreement with the SeeDs, the drive to defeat Ultimecia and save not only Timber but also the entire world had superseded it. Why was Squall so worried about it now? Not that she wanted to forget about her commitment to the Forest Owls, far from it. But it made her worry about what it would do to their budding relationship if they should continue to try and fulfill that contract. If Squall achieved the results he'd been hired for, what then? Would they still have a reason to be together or would his work then drive them apart, as it had once brought them together?

It left her torn, undecided. She remembered how unimpressed he'd been with the Owls' planning. _Her_ planning. She, Zone, Watts, and the rest weren't professionals, not by any means. That was why they had hit upon the idea of hiring SeeD in the first place. They'd had so many grandiose plans centered on that remote possibility of having true professionals to aid them.

Plans that had seemed childish and ill considered in the face of the scorn the cold-eyed mercenary they'd hired had shown them.

But now that same cold-eyed mercenary was no longer a rookie but a seasoned veteran, a bona-fide hero, _and_ her lover. Would this make things easier to actually win Timber's independence, or worse? And what part would their still new relationship play in this endeavor?

She leaned into him, tightening her arms around his waist, and tried not to give in to the fear that had begun to create a ball of lead in her guts.

Zell and Selphie smiled at the two of them, how cozy they now appeared when just a short time before Squall would have gently pushed Rinoa away.

"So, what's the plan Squall?" Zell asked him, curiously.

"Well, I'm still working on that. I don't have all the information I need yet, and I'm not going into a situation like Timber's blind. The last time we did that, we barely escaped with our hides intact." Squall answered, half-sitting on his desk, still keeping his arm around Rinoa, keeping her pressed close to his side.

Her warmth seeped into him through his clothing, distracting him by reminding him of how that warmth had felt under and around him the previous night. Reminding him of how her lips had tasted. Reminding him of the magic that had happened between them and igniting a craving to experience that magic again…soon.

He took a deep breath and shook himself mentally. He didn't want to push her away, but he knew that working with her was going to be damned difficult because of that distraction. It wasn't her fault either; she wasn't doing anything but holding him. This was _his_ problem.

Forcibly dragging his mind back from its distraction, Squall asked Rinoa, "Can you get a message to the Forest Owls? Get an update on the situation there?"

Rinoa swallowed, licking her lips, and answered, "I… think so." She frowned, wondering which of her contacts would still be accessible. After their abortive attempt to kidnap President Deling, Galbadia's troops had really cracked down on Timber's resistance factions, forcing the Owls to go underground. She ran through their usual messaging options, and got an idea.

"Good. I've been reading the intelligence reports from Galbadia, but we don't have any agents in Timber so I really don't know what the status is there. Right now, Galbadia's on the verge of a civil war; we don't know who's going to end up in charge when the dust settles, and things are too dangerous right now for us to even think of going there. We can't negotiate anything with Galbadia's leaders until they actually _have_ some; right now, _no one's_ in charge there. Galbadia Garden's still putting itself back together after the mess Seifer made of it so they aren't going to be much help; they've got their own concerns. Besides, with Galbadia in chaos, it'll actually work to our advantage. Most of the troops in Timber might already have been recalled. The rest shouldn't be too hard to encourage to leave." Squall said. Rinoa nodded.

"Do you have an idea of when we'll be leaving and how we're going to get there?" Selphie asked him.

"Well, the _when_ I'm not sure of yet. I'm still gathering information. The _how_ is likely to be the Ragnarok. We'll have to be dropped off outside of Dollet and hike in overland. Don't want to announce to everyone that the SeeDs have arrived. As small a group as we are, this _has_ to be a covert operation. That's the only way that I can see any chance for success. If the Galbadians don't know that we're SeeD, we'll have the advantage." Squall said. Selphie and Zell both nodded.

"So, anyway, that's what we've got going on so far," Squall said, bringing the informal meeting to a close. "I'll let you know when we're going to leave. Until then, be ready."

Sensing his dismissal, Zell snapped off a proper salute this time, grinning at Squall's eye-roll, saying, "Yes sir!"

Selphie simply smiled and winked at Rinoa, then skipped out the door. Zell followed her out after a wave at them both.

They were left alone together in the office. Alone for the first time since that wonderful interlude they'd shared. Pressed against his side as she was, Rinoa couldn't help but feel the interest, the _craving_ to repeat the previous night's activity. It had both impressed her and to an extent, disappointed her that he was still able to focus on work while his feelings were running rampant. Of course, Squall was all about control.

Then he looked down at her with a slight frown, and asked, "I probably should have asked you about this, shouldn't I have? I mean, _you're_ the client, you're calling the shots here."

Rinoa frowned back, disliking the reference to the fact that technically, she was his boss. Then it dawned on her why he had decided to go ahead and finish the job. He didn't want that stupid contract to come between them. She'd suddenly seen that clearly in his mind when he'd mentioned her being his client. She did wish however that they'd had a chance to discuss it before he'd started making plans.

"Yes, you should have. I would have liked to talk about it with you first." Rinoa said calmly.

Squall hesitated, then asked, "Do you still want us to do this then? Or do you have any suggestions, information that might help us get this done?"

Rinoa bit her lip. Yes, of course she wanted Timber's independence, and it was Squall's job to see that done. Just like Squall didn't like leaving a job half-finished; Rinoa didn't either. Besides if she backed out now, abandoned her friends in Timber, not only would she lose _their_ respect, but also that of the SeeDs she'd hired. She'd show them solid proof that she was just a princess dabbling in something she didn't understand and abandoned as soon as it got tough.

"Yes. Yes, I do. And I do have some ideas, but I need to get that message out." Rinoa answered, then, licking her lips, asked him, "Um, can I borrow your credit card?"

Squall frowned, "Why? You've got plenty of gil, we all do…"

"I know. Just trust me. I've got a way to send out a message but I'll need a credit card to do it." Rinoa said.

Squall raised his eyebrows, and commented, "Okay. Don't lose it." He reluctantly handed over his credit card, wondering if this was setting a bad precedent. What were the protocols, the rules regarding giving something like that to your girlfriend?

Then another thought struck him. _Was_ she his girlfriend? He didn't know. They hadn't put any sort of name on the relationship they had. She was his client, his lover, and much more than that. They were together, he loved her, but he suddenly realized that they'd never actually gone out on a _date_ before. Weren't people supposed to go out on dates before they became boyfriend and girlfriend? Before they became lovers?

Squall suddenly realized that he'd gone about things all wrong. He'd have to put it down to simple ignorance and inexperience, an admission that pained him but was nonetheless true. Sneaking a glance over at Rinoa as she used his phone to call someone, he thought that she didn't appear to be upset at all at the current state of their affair, or how things had started out. But still, he figured he should probably try to put their relationship back on the right track. Before it veered completely off the rails.

They should go out on a date.

"Here you go." Rinoa said, handing him back his credit card.

Squall frowned, confused, and asked her, "Did you send the message?"

"Yes. We need to be in Winhill on Monday. They'll meet us there." Rinoa answered.

"Monday huh? How do you know they'll be there?" Squall asked.

"Trust me. I know they'll be there." Rinoa declared confidently.

"Okay." Squall said. Then he tilted his head a little, studying her. Rinoa hid a smile. It was a habit he had, when he was trying to figure something out that had to do with her, she'd learned. He'd tilt his head to one side like Angelo did when Rinoa had given him a command he didn't understand, and study her. The quizzical expression he wore was absolutely adorable, and Rinoa suddenly wanted to kiss him silly.

"Um… Rinoa?" He asked hesitantly. He swallowed down a sudden attack of nerves.

"Yes Squall?" She smiled up at him, slipping her arms around his waist again, this time loosely.

The feel of her hands on him again made him forget his nervousness and he asked her, "Am I your… boyfriend?" Rinoa's smile grew brighter and she stepped between his splayed legs as he leaned against his desk. His hands gently settled at her hips and pulled her forward until their bodies were touching.

"I don't know Squall, am I your girlfriend?" She asked, gazing up into his face.

He paused for a moment, thinking, then said, "The terms are inaccurate. We're more than friends. Especially after last night… but…. yeah… I consider you my girlfriend." Then he swallowed, looking nervous again, and added, "If you want to be, that is..."

Rinoa's expression softened at the bright flush that had appeared on his cheeks. He really was completely adorable when he wanted to be.

"Yes," Rinoa whispered, leaning into his body, pressing herself against the hard planes of his muscle and bone, pulling him into a deep, breath-stealing kiss.

He wrapped his arms around her and crushed her close, close enough that she could feel his heart thudding against her chest, hear his harsh breaths as kissed her. Taste his essence as his mouth melded with hers and their tongues met and danced together. Feel his heat, his passion, his excitement…. and his love.

He wanted to do again what they'd done the previous night, wanted to know if he'd done it right and if she'd enjoyed it. Rinoa felt that from him as clearly as if he'd shouted it in her ear. She also sensed his excitement at the thought of doing that again with her right that moment in his office.

She couldn't help the warm shiver that went up her spine at that thought, and her hands slipped under his shirt, stroking over the warm skin.

His followed suit, stroking up her back, then around to the front, palming and caressing her breasts over her bra and making her moan quietly. Then she shivered again as his lips left hers and started lightly traveling down her neck, nipping lightly at the sensitive skin.

For someone who'd never done anything like this before, Squall was damned good at it. Of course, everyone she'd talked to about him _said_ he was a quick study. It was obviously true.

Brushing his lips against her ear, Squall whispered huskily, "Please tell me to stop if you don't want to do this here."

"Don't stop." Rinoa whispered back, prompting Squall to pull back and stare at her, eyes dark with passion.

"Are you sure?" He asked softly. When she nodded, he looked around trying to find someplace that might work for what he intended. The desk? Well, maybe but there was the computer and stuff on it, and it was hard and uncomfortable and… no. The chair? No, he wasn't even sure how that would work. The couch? Couch? Oh, right, he _did_ have a couch in his office. A very nice leather one against the far wall. _Yes, that would work nicely._

He stood up and pulled Rinoa over to it and they lay down on it, continuing from where they'd left off. Squall had just gotten Rinoa's shirt and bra removed, and she'd pulled his shirt off as well and was undoing his pants when he checked his pockets and froze, groaning.

Dropping his head to the hollow at the side of her neck, Rinoa heard his muffled voice murmur, "Crap. Craaaaaap!"

"Squall? Did you…?" Rinoa asked, feeling disappointment starting to creep in.

He raised his head and frowned down at her and answered, "Did I what? Did I… Oh. No, I didn't. Not far from it though." He shifted, wincing, his movement prompting Rinoa to gasp.

"So? What's wrong?" She asked, still thrumming from the feel of his hard body against hers. She was still sensitive but that didn't matter to her, his kisses and touches had transmitted his craving for her and she had responded in kind.

Then he winced again as he answered sheepishly, "I don't… have anything… with me."

Rinoa groaned, "Crap."

"Yeah," He sighed, leaning his forehead against hers and stroked her cheek, apology in his eyes. "Sorry." He sat up and shifted away from Rinoa, leaning against the back of the couch, groaning. He took a deep breath and looked over at her; letting his eyes travel over her beautiful bared breasts, his arousal still aching.

"You might want to put your shirt back on," Squall said.

Rinoa sighed in disappointment. He looked so beautiful and sexy, slumped back on the couch with his shirt off and his pants undone. Her own body was aching for completion as well, despite the soreness from the previous night. She reached her hand out to him and he took it, pulling her up against him and kissing her again. But sweetly this time, regretfully. The fiery passion of earlier had dissipated.

"Okay," Rinoa said finally, locating it and her bra and putting them both back on, with Squall watching in fascination as she did.

 _So that's how they do that…_ He'd thought as she put her bra back on.

Rinoa had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at Squall's mental comment. Then she sobered. She couldn't let this go on for much longer; she had to do something about it. It wasn't fair to Squall. She had to go talk to Edea.

While she had been putting her shirt back on, Squall had finally stood, buttoned his pants again and retrieved his shirt. Rinoa stood as well, approaching him and slipping her arms around his waist again.

Leaning her head against his chest, she sighed, "Maybe we can finish this tonight."

"Do you want to?" He asked. She nodded. He stroked his hand lightly down her back and leaned his head against hers.

"You know," He said. "I was thinking earlier, and I suddenly realized that we've never been out on an actual date."

Rinoa looked up at him and smiled, "We've been a little busy, what with saving the world and all."

"I know. But…. I'd like to take you out on one tonight." Squall said.

"I'd like that." Rinoa said.

Squall smiled, that same sweet, innocent smile he'd given her on the balcony the previous night, and said, "Good. I'll come get you at six."

"I can't wait." Rinoa said, still smiling.

Gently caressing her cheek with the palm of his hand, Squall said, "Neither can I. Why don't you go on back to your rooms and relax until then, maybe take a nap or something?"

Rinoa nodded, and sighed, "Okay. I'll see you later then." She reluctantly pulled away and slowly made her way toward the door.

"Good." Squall said, but he didn't release the hand he still held. Rinoa still edged away, their linked hands stretching out as the distance between them increased. Then Squall pulled her back and kissed her again. Then he let her go.

She looked back before going through the door, and smiled at him once, loving the soft expression in his eyes and the small smile he still wore. Then she left.

It would be hard to turn off that "sense" that she had, hard to put a stop to the flood of thoughts and emotions that she was receiving from Squall, but she knew it was the right thing to do.

Sighing, Rinoa went in search of Edea.


	2. Say It With Flowers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2: Say It With Flowers

Chapter 2: Say It With Flowers

Zone tugged his watch cap down over his eyes and hunched into the tattered coat he was wearing as he walked through the streets of Timber. His nondescript clothing blended in with the rest of the citizens of the city-state, who were in the same tattered, impoverished state as he was. He'd thought that once President Vinzer Deling was dead, Galbadia would recall the troops that still currently occupied Timber.

But if a recall order had been issued, it had not reached Timber. Some of the troops had left of their own volition, headed back to Deling City after the pay packets and supply deliveries had ceased. Some had deserted and presumably headed north to Dollet, or south perhaps to Winhill.

Some had remained. Those stalwart soldiers, stubbornly awaiting orders, pay packets, supplies that never came, grew increasingly desperate and brutal as a result. Despite bumper crops that were already ripening in the fields, the people of Timber were on the verge of starvation.

The Galbadian soldiers had seized complete control of the city, not even _pretending_ to allow the citizens to live their lives in peace any more. They rounded up the people, those that looked strong and healthy enough, and marched them out to work in the fields, to bring in the harvests when they were ready…. and to put them in the garrison's storehouse.

They _said_ that the food would be distributed fairly among the citizens of Timber. They _said_ that it was a temporary, necessary solution until they could reestablish their supply lines to and communications with Deling City. They _said_ that they would allow things to return to normal once that was accomplished.

"Normal" meaning the status quo with the Galbadian troops in control of Timber, the people grudgingly trying to co-exist with them and swallow down the every day indignities they had to endure at their hands.

As the weeks turned into months, the citizenry discovered that they had lied.

The dormant and mostly underground resistance movement had slowly, carefully begun reawakening. The Owls were active again, but this time in a subtler manner. Instead of the bold plan of actually attempting to kidnap President Deling, (which would have succeeded if the plan hadn't somehow been leaked to the president), they confined themselves to raiding the garrison's stores and distributing the results.

It wasn't glamorous or brave or impressive, certainly not like the mercenary that Rinoa had hired. But it kept people from starving, and that, in Zone's mind, mattered more.

He wondered, more than once, what had become of his Princess Rinoa and the SeeDs she'd somehow managed to hire. After everything blew up in their faces at the failed kidnap attempt, she'd disappeared with them. He'd heard, through the underground, that she'd been involved somehow with an attack on Sorceress Edea the night the sorceress had murdered Vinzer Deling. He heard that she had been captured and taken to the D-district prison, that her SeeDs had been executed. One of them anyway.

He'd been shocked to run into the SeeDs she'd hired on the White SeeD ship weeks later, learning that they'd somehow accomplished the impossible and actually _escaped_ the D-district prison. Had attacked and defeated Sorceress Edea…. and that Rinoa had somehow been injured in the fight and was comatose.

Learning that her pet SeeD had failed to protect her had driven Zone to attack the young man, shoving him back and punching him. It wasn't until later that he realized that he'd attacked a mercenary that could have killed him with a single blow, and the young man hadn't raised a hand to defend himself. The lost, hurt look in the SeeD's eyes had given Zone a chill, because he'd seen that same look in his own eyes, every time he thought about Rinoa. The SeeD was in love with her, whether he was aware of it or not.

But that was the last time that he'd seen or heard anything about them. About _her_. They'd disappeared into Esthar, and the world had gone insane.

The thought that brave, beautiful Rinoa might actually be dead now made Zone's heart ache.

He'd never had a chance with her, but that didn't stop him from loving her. First, it was Seifer. Handsome, charismatic, with a dangerous edge that being a SeeD had given him… _even though he wasn't a SeeD yet…_ he had turned Rinoa's head and her fascination had quickly become infatuation. To be fair, he _had_ helped them to pull off some operations that they might not have succeeded in doing otherwise. Then he'd disappeared at summer's end, promising to help Rinoa get a meeting with the headmaster of Balamb Garden. They'd been hopeful that with the meager funds they'd scraped together, she'd be able to hire some SeeDs to help. Even _one_ SeeD would be better than none at all.

Then, she'd gone to Balamb and returned with a contract, not for _one_ SeeD, but _three_. That was the second reason he'd never had a chance with Rinoa.

A blind man could see that she was as interested in the remote, cold-eyed squad leader as he was _dis_ -interested in her at the time. Like Seifer, the lean, scarred young man carried a gunblade. But that was their only similarity.

The SeeD (and Zone couldn't remember his name properly…something to do with storms, he thought) was quiet, aloof, and dark, where Seifer had been cocky, loud and bright. Seifer's eyes burned with the passionate blue of a warm summer sky, while the SeeD's eyes were also blue. But they were flat and cold, an icy blue with hints of green like the northern seas near Trabia.

Of the two of them, and Zone had _seen_ Seifer in action with his gunblade, he judged Rinoa's mercenary leader to be deadlier. Seifer was no slouch with his gunblade, but he'd obviously lacked something, and had washed out in his bid to become SeeD. Whatever it was that Seifer lacked however _, this_ young man had. He _was_ a full SeeD, and a squad leader, while Seifer was not.

Besides, it was always the quiet ones that were the most dangerous.

He walked past the currently closed Timber Maniacs offices, with a sigh. When the Galbadians had started their crackdown, the journalists had been the first to suffer. They'd all either been run off or even outright murdered. The editor had been shot to death in the street right in front of the building while protesting the crackdown on the press. Occasionally, some brave soul would leave flowers or other mementos in tribute to him.

There hadn't been any flowers there for weeks though. Not until now. Zone stopped, seeing a bouquet that hadn't been there before.

He walked over slowly to take a closer look at it. Most of the flowers that had been left there in the past had been hand picked wildflowers, as no one had the money to actually buy a professionally arranged bouquet. But this…. _this_ was magnificent. It was beautifully arranged in a crystal vase with a big white bow on it.

It sat conspicuously right in front of the padlocked door of the Timber Maniacs building, all by itself. Studying it, Zone narrowed his eyes, identifying each part of the arrangement and analyzing it piece by piece.

It had to be a message. In the past, the Timber Maniacs building had been a message drop for the Forest Owls, in part because Zone could pick up a copy of Girl Next Door while he was there, and nobody would think twice about there being a message inside the magazine he was buying.

He knelt down in front of the vase and looked for a card, finding one with a cryptic, nonsensical message: "STORM UNDER NEW MOON. SPEAK TO THE WINHILL GHOST."

That wasn't all of it, he knew. The resistance factions in Timber had developed a code that no one had been able to decipher. Because they lived in the forest among green, growing things, they used those plants and flowers to communicate. Each plant, each flower, meant something. The way they were combined could convey an entire paragraph, if the person was skilled enough in the use of the code.

So Zone studied the arrangement and the plants that it was made of: _Nasturtium-_ Patriotism. _Black poplar-_ courage. _Coltsfoot-_ Justice shall be done. _Purple columbine-_ resolved to win. _White oak-_ independence. _Nutmeg geranium-_ expected meeting. _White mulberry-_ wisdom.

Reading the arrangement of flowers and plants, the message Zone interpreted from it was this: _Courage. Be a strong patriot. Justice will be done and we are resolved to win Timber's independence. We expect to meet in Winhill on the night of the new moon. Bring the owls._

In all the time that he'd been leader of the Forest Owls, only one person he knew was that skilled in the flower code. Rinoa. Zone's heart lifted. She was alive. And she was coming back to Timber.

 _Storm under new moon…_ Storm…. Zone frowned. The weather reports projected for the night of the new moon were clear skies. Why the reference to storms? Then he remembered. Rinoa's mercenary. His name. Some kind of storm… _Squall._ So her SeeD had survived as well.

Zone got to his feet, glancing surreptitiously around, and casually strolled toward a nearby shop. Making a great show of studying the virtually empty store, he whispered a single word to the gaunt shopkeeper and left.

That shopkeeper in turn passed the message along to the next person to come in. That person passed it down the line until it reached the ears of those who understood its meaning.

By evening, all of the remaining Forest Owls were on their way to a prearranged and securely hidden meeting place.

* * *

Zone waited in the darkened forest, trying to ignore the clenching pains in his midsection. The goddamn ulcer was getting worse, and there was nothing he could do about it. Even if he could afford to see a doctor, there weren't any in Timber anymore. They'd all fled to either Winhill or Deling City. So instead, he popped another antacid and simply endured the pain.

A quiet rustle and a twig's snap made him tighten the grip he had on the revolver he'd stuck in his coat pocket. His father's coat, his father's revolver. Both fit him perfectly now, much better than when he'd taken over the Owls after his father's senseless murder.

A soft trill sounded from the shadows, and Zone narrowed his eyes in that direction. _Western Horned Owl_ , he thought, identifying the call. It was Watts.

A bloodcurdling shriek sounded from another quarter, sending a chill up Zone's spine. Northern Screech Owl. Mykos. A soft hoot, easily identifiable as a Barn Owl, followed. Zedd. More calls, confirming the identities of those who'd survived and managed to make it to the meeting place, sounded.

Zone looked around in the dim light, seeing cat-footed shadows emerging from their cover to converge upon him. One of them came up to him and pulled him into a hug. Zone hugged him back tightly, pounding his back.

"Watts," He said in a low voice. "It's good to see you brother. Where have you been?"

"I'll explain once we get to cover." Watts answered. Zone nodded and greeted the other Owls that had arrived, gesturing with his head for them to follow him.

They threaded their way through the forest until they reached what looked like a thick copse of trees and brush. Another hoot sounded, and Zone answered it. The copse of brush moved, and suddenly it became a doorway built into a cleverly constructed and camouflaged wall.

Zone stood aside and let the Owls enter first, his eyes scanning the forest around them. When the last man had entered, he followed him, shutting the door behind him.

Then he walked into the middle of the large cave that they'd designated as their meeting place, and looked around at the gathering. They'd all brought electric lanterns or torches. The batteries might be expensive, but there was less chance of smoke from a fire luring any curious soldiers to check out its source.

"You called Census. Why?" A woman asked him.

"I received a message. One that all the Owls need to hear." Zone answered.

"What's the message?" Watts asked him.

"Has anyone been by the message drop today?" Zone asked. Some heads were shaken, others nodded.

"I went by there this morning. I didn't see anything." A voice piped up.

"Me neither." Said another.

"I was walking past it a few hours ago and I saw an arrangement of flowers. It had been purchased and sent from a flower shop in Winhill. It had a card with a message on it." Zone said.

"What did it say?" Asked Watts.

"The message on the card said, 'Storm under new moon. Speak to the Winhill ghost.'" Zone answered.

"What was the arrangement?" another woman asked.

Zone looked over at her and answered, "Nasturtium. Black Poplar. Coltsfoot, purple columbine, white oak, nutmeg geranium, and white mulberry." The owls fell silent, deciphering the code.

Watts stared at Zone, asking him, "Is it…?"

"I think so. It has to be. Nobody was better at the code than she was." Zone answered.

"Tell us the full message." Mykos requested. The rest of the Owls nodded. They likely already knew, but they wanted his interpretation of it.

" 'Courage. Be a strong patriot. Justice will be done and we are resolved to win Timber's independence. We expect to meet in Winhill on the night of the new moon. Bring the owls.'" Zone quoted.

The rest of the owls looked at each other, pondering the message.

"It could be a trap." A man said.

Zone shook his head, "I don't think so. The message has led me to believe that it was from Rinoa Heartilly. I believe it's her that we're going to meet in Winhill. Her and her SeeD mercenaries… _One_ of them anyway."

"Do you know which one?" Watts asked him.

"I think it may be Squall." Zone answered.

Watts stared at him, "Squall? _He's_ coming?"

"I think so." Zone answered, then he asked, "Do you have any news Watts? You sound like you've heard more about him than I have."

"Yeah. I have news. You asked me earlier, where I've been. I've been in Deling City." Watts answered.

"How is it there?" one of the Owls asked him.

"Bad. Riots. Fighting in the streets. The army is fighting against the local police _and_ itself…its ugly. People there are scared to leave their homes. A lot have fled to Dollet." Watts answered grimly.

"So it's a civil war then?" Mykos asked him.

"Not quite. But it's close. Nobody's really got the upper hand, but one of the generals seems to have the best chance of anybody to restore order. He's well liked and wasn't real popular when Deling was in power. He's still working on getting the army completely under his control though." Watts answered.

"Which general?" Zone asked.

"Caraway." Watts answered.

Zone nodded, then said, "Well, as pertinent as that may be to us, we can't really get involved. Galbadia's going to have to fight it out amongst themselves. However, if it's as chaotic as it sounds, it should be easier to encourage these soldiers to go back. They have no support right now. No orders are coming through. No paychecks, no supplies. If we make things hot enough for them, they'll leave."

"What did you have in mind?" Watts asked.

"Dirty tricks. Sabotage. Raids. Same things that we've been doing, but now we'll have SeeD support." Zone answered.

"You mean, now you'll have hired killers to do what you haven't the stomach to do yourself, right?" someone spoke up snidely from the shadows.

Zone swallowed and unconsciously rubbed at his aching gut.

Deciding to ignore the jab, he turned to Watts, requesting, "Tell me what you know about this SeeD, Squall. I only know the story up to when he came aboard the White SeeD ship. I haven't heard anything since."

"Well, when he first met up with us, he was fresh out of the academy. A rookie. Probably the reason why Rinoa was able to hire those SeeDs at all. Someone with more experience would have cost far too much." Watts said.

"Damn tough for a rookie though. He knew his stuff." One of the Owls commented. The rest nodded. Rookie or not, the SeeD had been seriously impressive to watch. They all had been.

"You all know what happened after that." Watts said. The Owls nodded.

"After they left the White SeeD ship, I disembarked when we got to FH and kind of hung around there. I heard that they'd made it into Esthar, but not much info filtered out. Not until just about a week or so ago. Balamb Garden was still docked at FH, and I heard a lot of scuttlebutt among the SeeDs hanging out there." Watts reported, then he continued, "Squall was promoted to commander. Apparently now, he doesn't just command the team he brought here to Timber, but the entire Garden. You know that whole business with Sorceress Edea? She was possessed by another, stronger sorceress from the future, Ultimecia. Rinoa was too, that's why she was comatose, Zone."

Zone stared at Watts, trying to wrap his mind around that information. Squall, a _commander_ now? Rinoa possessed by a sorceress? Was she still? She must not be now, not if she was able to send the message that they'd received.

"But…she's okay now, right? Please tell me she's okay?" Zone asked Watts quietly.

"Yes. She's okay. Squall…. carried her. All the way into Esthar. And somehow, they helped her. But…then this Lunar Cry thing happened and practically destroyed Esthar. Things got… really weird after that. I heard that Squall and Rinoa and everyone else had somehow managed to travel into the future and battle this Ultimecia and kill her. But coming back…Squall almost didn't make it." Watts answered.

"What do you mean?" Zone asked.

"I barely understand this myself. It's really hard to believe but somehow, this thing called Time Compression happened. Past, present, future, all compressed into one... I don't even know what to call it. Anyway, when they killed Ultimecia, it all started to come apart and they had to somehow find their way back and Squall…well he couldn't. He got lost somehow. Rinoa found him, all but dead. Last thing I heard though was that he was fine. Everyone was. I hitched a ride with a frigate north from FH, landed in Deling City a couple of days ago and caught wind of your message today. I hightailed it back here as fast as I could." Watts said.

"I remember that." Mused one of the Owls. "It was like being caught in a nightmare, my past kept bleeding into my present, I couldn't remember what was what anymore. I was having conversations with my grandpa, who's been dead for ten years, I saw myself as a kid, playing in the forest…it was really weird."

"So that's what it was. Time Compression. And Squall…. stopped it. This sorceress, she wanted to destroy the whole damn world and he…killed her." Zone said, feeling awestruck in spite of his dislike for the SeeD. He remembered that time as well, he didn't know what it was either but like the Owl that had just spoken, Zone too remembered it as a waking nightmare. He remembered watching helplessly, again, as Vinzer Deling murdered his and Watts' fathers. He'd wanted to leap in and stop it, but couldn't. Something held him back. A voice had clearly said to him, "you can't change the past."

It was like time and space had suddenly become as fluid and viscous as molasses, and Zone had tried to slog his way through it to find the time, and place, that he belonged in. Zone had been able to anchor himself to his memories of the present and the people and places that he identified with strongly, so he wasn't swept away and lost in that tide.

Squall however…it was no surprise he hadn't been able to find his way back. He didn't appear to be someone who formed attachments, and without an anchor of some kind, something to hold onto, it was more surprising that he'd survived at all. Perhaps he'd had _one_ attachment that he wanted to return to but for some reason, couldn't make it all the way back. So, she'd met him halfway and helped him. Perhaps. The only way to know the full story was to ask them.

"So. Rinoa's SeeD, Squall…he's commander of Balamb Garden now, _and_ savior of the world to boot. And he's coming with her to Winhill to help _us_." A woman said slowly. Zone nodded. It was too good to be true. But…the contract, even as vague as it was, stated clearly that the terms of the SeeD's hire were until Timber achieved its independence. He was bound by it, and being a mercenary, he'd abide by the contract and do his best to fulfill it. _That_ was why you hired SeeD. They got the job done, or died trying.

Zone scanned the faces of the rest of the Owls, seeing hope dawning on previously hopeless expressions. The rookie SeeD that had worked with them in the past was returning as a seasoned warrior with the rank equivalent to that of a General. In spite of himself, Zone too began to feel hopeful that they _would_ in fact, accomplish their goal. Freedom.

 _Speak to the Winhill ghost…_ the final piece of the message. The meeting place. The Winhill ghost was a pub owner who'd died nearly twenty years ago, and it was said she could still be seen from time to time, polishing her bar and setting out fresh lilies.

Taking a deep breath, Zone said, "We all need to be in the old Winhill pub Monday night to meet with them."

* * *

Squall spent the remainder of his day after Rinoa left reading through the rest of the intelligence reports that had come in from Galbadia. It didn't paint a pretty picture of the situation there, and by extension, the situation in Timber.

He studied the topographical map of Galbadia and decided that since their meeting would take place in Winhill, it should be safe to have Quistis drop them off there with the Ragnarok. Then they would sneak into Timber from there.

His mind busily worked at the plan, turning it back and forth and examining it from all sides before continuing on to how they might get into Timber. He couldn't really plan on what to do once they arrived, not until they'd actually met with the Forest Owls and got better information on Timber.

So absorbed was he in making out a list of supplies that they would need and GF's that would be most useful, Squall nearly forgot the time. A chance glance at his watch showed it to be nearly five o'clock and he froze, heart racing.

 _Crap!_ Squall thought. He'd said he'd pick Rinoa up at six…. and he had _no idea_ what they were going to do. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, forcing his pounding heart to calm.

 _Okay. Relax Leonhart. You can do this._ He told himself, and then frowned. What did people usually do on dates? Movies? But there wasn't anything really interesting showing. Dinner? Well, he did say he'd pick her up at six…. and they had to eat, right?

Right. So…dinner. Where? Well, he rather thought that the cafeteria, while handy, wouldn't necessarily be right. Too public, for one thing. He frowned, stumped for a moment, and then remembered one of his favorite haunts in Balamb.

While he hadn't done much socializing as a cadet (correction. He hadn't done _any_ socializing as a cadet), he _had_ gone into Balamb on occasion. Most cadets did. Some took it as a welcome break from the routine in Garden and shopped, played, and visited local restaurants for something other than the fare offered in the cafeteria. Squall was no different.

Most of the cadets gravitated toward places that fostered a fun and social atmosphere. Places that Squall avoided like the plague.

But in avoiding those places, he'd found a seaside café that he actually liked. It was small; it had a wonderful view of the beach from the patio. It was quiet and off the beaten path, the food was good and best of all, nobody bothered him there. It was perfect.

Picking up the phone, he dialed the number and asked for the owner. He wanted to make sure his favorite table was ready. Once assured of that, he put his papers and maps away, tidying up his desk, then he locked up his office and left.

He hurried back to his room, took a quick shower and studied his wardrobe in dismay, awakening to the sad fact that in the matter of clothing, he was spectacularly unimaginative. He'd never given it much thought, really, beyond making sure that whatever he wore was _clean_. Well, clean would have to do.

He dressed in his usual outfit and took a towel to his still-damp hair in an attempt to dry it more, then ran a comb through it. Then he took a razor to his still sparse stubble. There was barely anything there, but he hated the way it felt and it looked even worse coming in. Finally he brushed his teeth.

Before he left, he grabbed a couple of items from his nightstand. He didn't even remember how he'd come by them, but was hopeful he'd get to use them. Then a thought struck him: if this became a regular thing between him and Rinoa (as he hoped that it would), he'd have to _buy_ them.

Where did one purchase those things anyway? He frowned, thinking, then remembered Irvine mentioning a visit to a pharmacy. As most of his stories did, it involved flirting with whatever female happened to be in the vicinity, but _this_ time at least, it also provided valuable information.

It occurred to him that Irvine might be a good person to ask about stuff like that, and then dismissed it. Experienced he may be, but discrete he was _not_. Still, that lack of discretion had actually educated Squall far more than he'd thought. All he'd had to do was pay attention.

Finally, feeling more prepared and not at all nervous, he left for Rinoa's rooms.

Rinoa meanwhile was also agonizing over her wardrobe and wondering what Squall intended to do for their first date…. beyond finishing what they'd started in his office. Her breath caught at the warm thrill that gave her. She hoped that they would.

Rinoa's visit with Edea had been very helpful, and she was grateful to the former sorceress for her help in managing her new abilities. Particularly the way she could hear Squall's thoughts and feel his emotions.

When she'd told Edea that she wanted to stop that, the woman had simply nodded and showed her how to shield her mind from it. Then Edea had told her about the bond that was beginning to form between her and Squall.

Rinoa hadn't imagined it, it was real, and it had begun when Squall had made his promise to be her knight. Despite the fact that he'd never verbalized that vow, the love behind it and the firm resolve that accompanied that love had been more than enough to establish it.

And their physical intimacy had strengthened it. Edea had confirmed that it was part of the bond. But she had agreed with Rinoa that Squall, still much too new to all of this, might not react well to learning of Rinoa's ability to read his thoughts. He would need time to settle into the role and become comfortable with it before Rinoa revealed anything more to him.

But now… now she had to figure out what to wear, and her limited options left her chewing at her lower lip in consternation. It wasn't like she'd had time to pack anything the last time they'd been in Deling City. She had little more than a couple changes of clothing and undergarments and the dress she'd worn to the SeeD graduation party.

Okay. That would have to do.

She showered and got ready in record time, the activity serving to keep the sudden attack of nerves at bay. It was crazy. She had no reason to be nervous, it wasn't like she had to worry about whether he _liked_ her or not. He more than _liked_ her; he _loved_ her. Even if she hadn't heard it, felt it from him, the mere fact that he'd risked his life to save hers proved it.

A soft knock at her door caused a spike in her heart rate and she had to take a deep breath to calm herself. She glanced at the clock as she went to answer the door and smiled. Six o'clock on the dot.

Of _course_ he would be on time.

She opened the door and her smile broadened. She felt a bubbly happiness that almost made her want to giggle, but she fought it down. Squall had shown up looking like…Squall.

Well, what else did she expect him to wear? His dress uniform? Or his regular SeeD uniform? Since she didn't know what he had planned, she had no idea of any of those other options would be appropriate. And really, she didn't even know if he had anything else to wear or if, like her, was faced with similarly limited choices.

She didn't mind. He looked good regardless, and had obviously showered, so no complaints from her in that respect.

But the look on his face when she answered the door in that short, slinky dress she'd worn when they'd first met? _Priceless_. She didn't have to read his mind to know what he was thinking. For once it was written plainly on his face. He looked…stunned.

 _Holy crap. That DRESS…_

He'd seen her in it more than once before, and each time he did she looked better and better in it. It hugged her figure, showing off her slender curves and was so _damn_ short…it made her legs look like they went on forever. It made him ache to have those legs wrapped around him again.

Squall swallowed hard, and tried to remember how to breathe.

"Hi. You're right on time," Rinoa smiled, stepping through the door and closing it behind her. Taking his hand, she laced her fingers through his and sighed slightly as she felt smooth leather rather than his warm skin. He must have put the gloves on out of habit. Same with the gunblade.

"So, what are we doing?" She asked him. She waited patiently for him to find his voice, finding his tongue-tied reaction very endearing.

"Dinner." He answered, and they started walking up the hall. Rinoa frowned. Dinner? Okay, that might be nice but if they were just going to the cafeteria….

"Where?" She asked, "The cafeteria?"

Squall shook his head, "Balamb. This place I like."

Rinoa gave him another brilliant smile, relieved. He'd lapsed into his normal silence, but she didn't mind. He wasn't talkative anyway, particularly when he was…unsure… of himself, she'd discovered. So she'd give him time to relax.

He glanced over at her and couldn't stop a small smile. She looked… indescribable. He couldn't find the words for how she made him feel, how she looked. So, instead he'd show her a piece of himself, what he liked. He'd never wanted to do that before. Not for anyone.

But for Rinoa…well, that was different. He _wanted_ her to know things about him. _Some_ things, anyway. There were other, darker things about him that she didn't need to know and he didn't want to share with her. Perhaps in time she would learn those things about him and love him anyway. Perhaps she already knew.

They walked the short distance to Balamb, enjoying the brisk evening. The sun was just setting, the light just beginning to take on the golden tint characteristic of a day coming to its end. A breeze off the nearby sea brought the tang of salt and the cries of shorebirds. Two things that Balamb was never without.

It used to bother her, extended periods of silence. It always seemed awkward when no one was speaking. But Squall had managed to show her that there were different ways to communicate. By his postures, attitudes, expressions (though they were sometimes hard to decipher) she was learning to read his silences.

But in giving herself over to the silence, she heard… music. Not the music that one would hear on a radio or play on a piano. It was too quiet for that. It required a soul that could hear such music and not be bothered by the silence that contained it. It was the music of soft breezes, crashing breakers and shrieking birds. Of crickets and cicadas. Of golden sunsets and glorious sunrises. Of soft kisses, gentle caresses, whispered words…it was the music of the world. Of life, and love… and she'd never heard it before she'd spent a moment in that silence at Squall's side.

Suddenly overwhelmed by that beauty, she released his hand, wrapping her arms around him instead. He glanced down and smiled gently, putting his arm around her and pulling her close to his side.

"You okay?" He asked her.

"Yes." She smiled, eyes sparkling.

"We're nearly there." He said.

True to his word, it was just moments later that they strolled into a quaint little café. An older woman who smiled warmly at Squall, showed them to a patio table with a lovely view of the beach.

The place was small, but it was clean, and decorated with little homey touches that gave it a feel of warmth and welcome. Fresh flowers on the tables, along with snowy white linens, gleaming flatware and beeswax candles added to the atmosphere.

"Can I get you two anything to drink?" Their server asked them.

Squall glanced inquiringly at Rinoa, who shrugged and asked, "Do you have hot chocolate?"

"Yes, we do." The server answered, scribbling something on his notepad, and then asked Squall, "What would you like?"

"Coffee." He answered.

"Coming right up." The server said, leaving them alone again.

"So, what's good here?" Rinoa asked Squall.

"I like the fish and chips. But they have other stuff that's really good too." he answered her.

She smiled at him, saying, "I'll have to try the fish and chips then."

The server returned with their drinks and they placed their dinner orders.

While they were waiting, Rinoa laced her fingers together and rested her elbows on the table. Propping her chin upon the rest created by her joined hands, Rinoa said, "So…now I get to ask you some questions I'd dearly love answers to."

Squall raised his eyebrows and asked, "what questions?"

"How old are you?" she asked. Squall frowned, surprised. Then he realized that he'd never told her, and she'd never asked about it until now.

"Seventeen." He answered.

"Birthday?" she asked.

"August. Twenty-third." He answered.

"Favorite color?" she asked.

"Blue." He answered.

She paused, surprised, and said, "I'd have thought it would be black."

Squall shrugged, thinking, _there's a lot of stuff about me that would surprise you._ Then he asked her, "what about you? Age? Birthday? Favorite color?"

Rinoa smiled, "Seventeen. March third, and silver."

"Silver's a metal, not a color." Squall observed.

"It's both. Your necklace is silver." Rinoa said.

"Nope. Platinum." He said, eyes starting to twinkle with humor.

"But it's a silvery _color_." Rinoa insisted.

Squall nodded with a slight smile, conceding the point to her, then their dinners arrived.

The familiar smell of the fish and chips filled the air and Squall reached for the malt vinegar. As he'd told Rinoa, the café did have other fare, and all of it was good. But the fish and chips were by far his favorite.

Rinoa had already crunched into a fillet and was moaning in ecstasy, nearly making Squall drop the malt vinegar.

Suddenly, he wasn't _half_ as interested in his dinner as he was in hearing Rinoa make those noises in private.

"Ooooh! Mmmmm! This is sooo good Squall!" She was saying, rolling her eyes.

Squall blinked, then reached for a glass of water in an effort to moisten his dry mouth. _Holy Hyne,_ he thought, _she didn't do that last night…_ That thought left him feeling a little disappointed. Maybe he _hadn't_ done things right? Maybe she wouldn't be interested in doing it again? No, he was pretty certain, going by their unfortunately aborted attempt in his office earlier, that she was willing to give it another go.

This time, he was going to make _sure_ she enjoyed it. Somehow.

"How come you haven't started eating yet? Aren't you hungry?" Rinoa asked.

"Yeah." Squall answered, then dashed a bit of the vinegar onto his fish and took a bite. Fortunately, despite his distraction, his dinner hadn't gotten cold yet. The fillet was still warm and crispy on the outside, buttery and flaky on the inside, and not at all soggy. Balamb fish at its best.

He couldn't help but enjoy it. It _was_ his favorite meal after all. He dipped a fat chip into a bit of ketchup and crunched into it, thinking that watching Rinoa enjoy _her_ dinner as well was pretty fun to watch. In fact, thus far the entire evening had been incredibly enjoyable. Far more than he'd thought it would be.

He didn't want it to end. Ever.

Eventually however, they finished eating and despite lingering over dessert (she had insisted on sharing her chocolate shake with him. "You're too skinny Squall, you should eat more." She'd said,) they had to leave.

Squall left a generous tip on the table, paid for their dinners and ushered Rinoa out.

As they were leaving, the woman who'd shown them to their table said, "It was nice seeing you again, Squall. You two have a good night."

Squall simply nodded to her as they exited the café and started toward Balamb Garden.

"She knows you?" Rinoa asked.

Squall shrugged and answered, "I've been here a few times."

Rinoa laughed softly, "Cafeteria food _does_ get a little boring sometimes, doesn't it?"

" _And_ a little overly heavy on tubular processed meat products." Squall commented.

"Tubular processed…what?" Rinoa asked, laughing harder.

"Hot dogs." Squall clarified. Then he added, completely deadpan, "Contrary to rumor, I'm _not_ a huge fan of wieners." Rinoa stopped and stared at him, eyes wide and mouth open. Squall gazed back at her, smiling slightly, eyes twinkling.

Then she burst out laughing as she finally got the joke. It took her a few minutes to get herself back under control. She was laughing so hard she thought she'd fall over.

"I _knew_ it!" she gasped, "I _knew_ you had a sense of humor!"

Squall draped his arm around her shoulders and they started walking again, saying, "I'm working on it. Consider this privileged information."

"How privileged?" She asked, still laughing slightly.

"Top secret." He answered. Then he flinched aside in surprise as Rinoa ran her fingers lightly over his ribs.

"Aha!" she said triumphantly. "You're ticklish!"

Squall snorted, "I thought you figured that out last night."

"There was…. a lot of other stuff going on. I guess I missed that." Rinoa admitted.

"Guess so." Squall responded. They lapsed into silence as they walked, the moon rising full and bright, washing the plains along the road in silver. The distant roar of crashing breakers and the fresh tang of the sea was carried to them on the air. The night had cooled to the point that Rinoa began to regret her brief outfit. She shivered slightly and Squall pulled her closer to his side, tucking her under his arm.

He'd thought about renting a car, and was wondering if perhaps he should have done so. But the night was beautiful, the walk wasn't far… and Rinoa looked stunning in moonlight.

All too soon however, they were walking into Balamb Garden again, nodding to the guard at the gate. He nodded back in response, but did nothing else. They were well before curfew, so Squall didn't expect any difficulties.

He escorted her to her room and waited as she opened the door. She'd said she wanted to finish what they'd started earlier, but in spite of that, Squall didn't want to make any assumptions.

Turned out, he didn't need to.

"I had fun tonight." She sighed, gazing up at him happily.

"I did too." Squall replied. They simply stared at each other, then Rinoa tugged gently at his hand.

"Come in." She invited.

Squall hesitated, then said, "You don't have to…"

"I want to." She said. Squall simply nodded and followed her into her room. She closed and locked the door behind him, prompting him to smile slightly, remembering how certain friends of theirs had a tendency to ignore such common conventions as closed doors unless they were locked.

The last thing either of them wanted at this point was an interruption.

Rinoa turned back to Squall after locking the door, smiling, and he pulled her into his arms.

Before he could kiss her however, she stopped him, saying, "Why don't you take off your jacket? And the gloves? Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back."

She smiled brightly at him and went into what he presumed to be her bedroom. He looked around the place with interest, noticing the slightly cluttered, lived-in look. Finding a chair in the tiny kitchenette, he shrugged off his jacket and draped it over the back, removing his gloves as well and stuffing them into one of the pockets.

Turning around again, he saw what he took to be a fluffy throw rug tossed carelessly onto the couch before he noticed the bright brown eyes and pricked up ears of Rinoa's dog, which studied him intently. The animal raised its head a moment, nose twitching, then relaxed again, laying its head back down on its paws and closing its eyes. Squall snorted quietly. _Some watchdog,_ he thought.

Then Rinoa returned to the room, coming up to him and slipping her hands around his waist. She looked up, smiling, lips parted as though she was going to say something, but Squall didn't give her a chance. He kissed her before she could.

And what he'd held at bay all evening roared back with a vengeance. He deepened the kiss, pressing Rinoa close as his tongue dueled with hers. Her hands worked their way under his shirt, stroking softly over his smooth, warm skin. His hands too, traveled down her back and over her backside, pressing her closer still.

Somehow, though neither quite remembered how they got there, somehow they ended up with Squall pressing Rinoa against the wall, kissing her as though his life depended upon it. She had already pulled off his shirt and was nibbling on his ear, loving the feel of his hard body against hers, and the sound of his harsh, ragged breaths as he responded to her touch.

Then he shifted his position slightly and Rinoa winced, "Ow! Something's poking me…" Something _was_ poking her, in a very sensitive spot, and not at all in a pleasurable manner.

"Yeah, well, that's kind of normal…" Squall whispered, kissing her neck, then stopped as Rinoa poked his side.

"That's not what it is. This really hurts!" She complained, then shifted a little, looking down. Squall's gaze followed hers and he groaned.

"It's the handle of my gunblade. Sorry." He said softly, backing off from her for a moment and undoing his belts, letting them, and the heavy weapon, fall to the floor with a thunk.

Rinoa pulled him back into a kiss, pressing him flush against her body. She began to feel a hot, molten ache low in her groin that stole her breath and left her gasping with every kiss. One of Squall's hands traveled down over her butt and snuck under the hem of her dress then froze briefly as it encountered nothing but skin.

"Holy Gods Rin…"He gasped, barely able to articulate what that did to him, adding roughly, "I don't think we're gonna make it to the bedroom."

"I don't care…" Rinoa whispered, attacking the fastenings on his pants. He groaned as her hand found and freed him, knees going weak at her touch.

"Where's…?" She started to ask.

"Pocket. Right front." He managed. He couldn't think anymore, the feel of her hand stroking down his shaft, sheathing him, was robbing him of the ability to form coherent thought.

The only thing he could do was _feel_. Feel her weight and warmth as he lifted her, feel the strength of her legs as they wrapped around him, and feel the silken fire of her body as he plunged into her. Again, and again, his heart pounding so hard he felt it would explode, his lungs robbed of air with every stroke. Rinoa stoked the fire with her moans, her head thrown back against the wall, eyes half-closed and skin dewy with sweat.

One of her hands clenched in his hair as he trailed his lips up her throat, the other dug into his shoulder, holding on tightly. He was almost rough, a slave to the passion that drove him to seek that release of tension that left so much pleasure in its wake. Rinoa too, caught up in the throes of their lovemaking, spurred him on with her cries, her moans, the gasps and sighs he'd wanted to hear all night.

When that release finally came, it was a revelation to them both. Rinoa cried out and shook, Squall gasped and trembled, her shuddering orgasm triggering his.

He came to himself with legs that felt weak and rubbery, his beloved still shuddering in his arms, heart still thudding fit to burst. He still held her pressed against the wall, her legs still wrapped around him, still joined together.

Rinoa opened her eyes languidly, stroking her fingers through his hair, whispering, "Wow."

Squall smiled at her, and whispered breathlessly, "yeah." Then he kissed her gently. He'd actually intended to do things rather differently, but the heat of the moment had swept them away. He worried now that he'd been too rough, that she was still to tender from her first time for this to be comfortable for her, but she hadn't shown any discomfort. Quite the contrary.

Still… "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah." She answered, smiling at him.

He sighed in relief, "good." then he added, "we'd better…. uh…" He shifted, withdrawing from her, then set her back onto her feet. She swayed briefly, knees wobbly as well, and Squall steadied her.

"I need to..." he gestured awkwardly toward the bathroom.

After he'd taken care of what he needed to, Rinoa asked him, "do…. Do you want to stay? Here I mean? With me?"

Squall frowned slightly, then nodded, "yeah."

"Well, I don't know about you but I need to lie down. My legs feel like wet noodles." Rinoa said, heading toward the bedroom, fingers tangled with Squall's. She tugged gently and he followed without demur.

"Mine too," Squall admitted. Rinoa smiled at that.

So he joined Rinoa on her bed, pulling her close to his side as she pillowed her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. He blinked sleepily as her hand trailed lightly up his torso, playing with his pendant briefly before moving to his upper chest, just below his collarbone.

It lingered there, smoothing over a jagged scar.

"Is this where the ice javelin got you?" Rinoa asked him.

"Yeah." He answered.

She kissed his chest then, and whispered, "I remember that day. I was so scared. I thought you were dead. I thought we were _all_ dead."

"So did I." He said, kissing the top of her head.

Her weight upon his arm was making it fall asleep, but he didn't want to move. He decided that he _liked_ the feel of her head resting upon his chest, her hand, touching him. He wondered though, if he should stay the night and actually try to _sleep_ with her. Having never done that before, he didn't know if he _could_ or not. Perhaps if he was tired enough…

But her kisses continued, as did her caresses. The magic inherent in her touch left trails of warmth upon his skin, soothing where once even casual contact would burn and ache. Awakening him to another kind of ache.

"But…we're alive. Both of us." Rinoa was whispering, lips brushing his skin, breath raising gooseflesh. Her hand drifted lower, over his belly, caressing the taut skin and combing through the sparse hair there. He caught his breath and swallowed at the sensation.

"Alive to feel _this_. To be here together." She continued, reaching up to touch her lips against his. He shifted to his side, bringing her body closer against his, kissing her softly. Their kisses quickly turned heated, their caresses more intimate.

Rinoa's dress was shed, as was Squall's remaining clothing. As stormy and passionate as their first joining had been, this second one was languid, slow, and sweet. Squall took his time, as he'd intended from the beginning, loving her as thoroughly as he knew how.

Once again they were lost in each other, drowning in the sensations that they evoked from one another. Squall watched her, as he loved her, pushing her to the brink and beyond, holding her as she came apart in his arms. Finding sweet satisfaction in the fact that even as a rookie in this activity, he still managed to see that she enjoyed it. And mortally glad that he hadn't fallen victim to the dreaded "rookie mistake".

It was hard though, harder than he'd thought to resist the urge to selfishly grab for his own satisfaction, leaving her behind. In the end however, a modicum of restraint was paid off in spades.

At the end of it, he collapsed, gasping as his release rocked him, Rinoa still wrapped around him and holding him tight. He closed his eyes and held her, and just breathed. He felt too much, and too deeply, to even begin to find the words to describe it. So he remained mute and simply listened to her breaths, her heartbeat; felt her hand stroking his hair and caressing his back.

Eventually he had to move, and when he withdrew from her, he caught her slight wince.

Frowning in concern, he stroked her cheek, asking, "are you okay?"

She smiled and kissed his hand, "yeah, but I think I'm done for the night."

"Did I hurt you?" Squall asked, heart sinking.

"No," Rinoa hastened to reassure him. "It was fine. Wonderful in fact. But once more would definitely be too much. In fact, I might need a day or so to recover."

Squall swallowed at this admission, saying, "Maybe I'd better go."

"I'd like it if you stayed." Rinoa said. He moved to sit on the edge of the bed, reaching over to caress her hair. He closed his eyes again as she stroked his back.

"I'd love to. I really would." He said, then added with great difficulty. "But…. I only had the two condoms with me, and…. and you need time…"

He sighed, "If I stay here, I'll want you again. And again. I have a feeling that I'll never _stop_ wanting you. And I don't know if I can…hold back. I think it'll be better for both of us if I go back to my place tonight."

Rinoa laced her fingers through his, wishing he would stay, but understanding now why he couldn't. There would be other opportunities to fall asleep in his arms. Then she smiled at his admission that he'd never stop wanting her. She felt the same way, and was frustrated that her body wasn't quite on the same page as the rest of her. Not yet anyway.

He squeezed her hand gently, then got up and headed for her bathroom. She smiled as he left, loving the view of his taut backside as he walked away. The frontal view she got as he returned from the bathroom and started to put his shorts on was even better. She decided then that she loved watching him dress. She sighed, feeling incredibly lucky.

He sat down on the bed again to put his boots on and smiled over at her, wondering at the expression on her face.

"Come get me for breakfast?" she asked, smiling.

"I get up early," Squall warned her.

"Come get me anyway." She said.

He smiled again. "Okay."

Then he leaned over and gave her a soft, lingering kiss, whispering, "Get some rest. I'll see you in the morning." He got up and left the bedroom, locating his shirt in the living room and putting it back on, then picking up and buckling on his belts and his gunblade.

He'd just picked up his jacket and turned toward the door when Rinoa emerged from the bedroom wearing a fluffy white terrycloth robe. She came up and wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his chest briefly. He hugged her back, then bent down and kissed her again.

"Good night," He whispered. _I love you, my Angel._

"Good night to you too _._ " She whispered back.

He slung his jacket over his shoulder and left, closing the door softly behind him. It was after curfew now, but he didn't care. The entire Garden Faculty could be reading him the SeeD uniform code of conduct from start to finish and it wouldn't matter to him. The previous few hours he had experienced made any punishment he had to endure for being out after curfew worth it.

Then again, as Commander, perhaps being out after curfew didn't matter anymore. He had to stop thinking like a cadet. The fact remained however that what he'd shared with Rinoa this night was worth…. everything.


	3. The Bells of Freedom Chapter 3:Ghosts in the Mist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3: Ghosts in the Mist

Chapter 3: Ghosts in the Mist

Dawn was just breaking as the Ragnarok settled onto the plain just outside of Winhill. The morning mist rose up from the dew soaked grass, partially obscuring the gleaming red airship as the doors open and the ramp extended.

Squall strode down the ramp, followed by Rinoa, Selphie and Zell, and started walking toward the town. The ramp then retracted and the airship lifted off moments later.

As they walked toward the town, Rinoa increased her pace until she was next to Squall, reaching out and taking his hand. He glanced down at her and smiled slightly, then redirected his attention to scanning the surroundings as they approached the town. She wondered at that. Winhill was a small, quiet place, unlikely to be dangerous or treacherous, but Squall was behaving as though he were walking into hostile territory.

Perhaps he was. Rinoa hadn't been with them when they'd passed through Winhill weeks before, but she'd been told how the townsfolk tended to behave toward strangers.

He'd been quiet that morning. Fey. Rinoa had been tempted to thin her shields a bit to get a sense of what he was feeling, but instead firmed them up. She hadn't had that sense for long, and it was getting easier to forget that she had it, now that those sensations she'd been feeling had ceased. Still, when Squall was at his most difficult, it was hard to resist the temptation to read him in other ways.

The few days that had passed since their date had been…. odd. Confusing. A little anyway. She understood why Squall had backed off a bit and put a little distance between them; at least she thought she did. She'd needed time to let her body heal and Squall needed time to process what he'd experienced. She didn't expect him to suddenly be all lovey-dovey and drooling over her when he hadn't before, just because they'd had sex. Mind-blowing, _intense_ sex, perhaps, but still…

One thing for certain, she _knew_ he loved her, even though he hadn't actually _said_ it. She could feel it from him, and she didn't need to open her mind to read it. Small, subtle things clued her in about his feelings. Things like the fact that he smiled more readily for her than he'd done before, or the fact that he was _much_ more willing to be close to her. Still not overly demonstrative, at least not in public; but a light brush of his hand against hers or a gentle kiss on the cheek spoke volumes.

It wasn't as though he had been avoiding her. In fact, he'd made it a point to include her input as he'd worked on their plans for the trip to Winhill. He'd cautioned her however against attempting to plan anything regarding Timber until they'd spoken with the Owls and knew what they were up against. That alone was a marked contrast to how he'd been before.

For his part, Squall had kept himself busy and immersed in work in order to focus on something _other_ than what his body and heart both clamored for. Rinoa needed time, and he did his best to give that to her, but _damn_ it was hard… hard to see her beautiful smile, the sparkle in her eyes that was just for him. Hard to see her luminous skin and to remember how it had felt, tasted, smelled…hard to see her womanly shape and to remember how it had felt to be wrapped in her arms and lost in her warmth. It was hard to hold to his resolve when his body ached for her.

It was ironic to him to think back to how much of an effort it had been for him to interact with other people, when now almost the exact opposite was true. Now, with Rinoa at least, he wanted to do nothing _but_ interact, and had to hold himself back from it. From the _physical_ part at any rate.

But they were in Winhill now. A town populated by more ghosts than living people. It was time for him to work. Time to focus. Squall took a deep breath of the cool, damp morning air and let it go slowly, feeling the cool mask of the mercenary commander persona descend once again like a familiar suit of armor. The roiling emotions he had been feeling were now set aside so as not to interfere with his mission.

Now all he had to do was to ignore all the ghosts.

But that too was difficult to do. The shapes shifting in the mist brought back memories. Memories that disturbed him; mainly for the fact that they weren't _his_ , they belonged to Laguna Loire, former Galbadian soldier and current president of Esthar.

" _Uncle Laguna? Wouldn't it be nice if you 'n Raine got married so we could be a family?"_

But, not _all_ of those memories were Laguna's. Some of them were his. The first time Squall had come to Winhill, he'd thought the hostility he'd faced had been due to the fact that he was a stranger. The townsfolk had stared at him as though he were a ghost walking in their midst.

" _You look just like her. You don't look like your father at all."_

Kiros had told him that. Squall didn't understand what he'd meant; his comments had left him confused, disturbed. They still confused him. They hinted at a truth he wasn't sure he was ready to face. Kiros had known his parents. He knew who they were.

" _Let's talk when it's all done. Well, if you don't want to hear it, I'll understand…"_

Laguna. Looking sad and wistful, worried and afraid. Squall had thought it was because of what would happen to the world if he failed in his mission to defeat Ultimecia. It didn't occur to him that the fear had been meant for _him_. For _his_ safety.

" _I didn't want him to leave Raine. She wanted to show him her new baby…"_

Ellone. Explaining to Squall her reasoning behind forcing him into an unwanted intimacy with a man he didn't know. Even now, the thought of having someone _else_ inside his mind, sharing his thoughts, memories, feelings, made his skin crawl.

Ellone at least respected his aversion to it and no longer forced him into that connection with her, instead asking him in her own unique way. And she was careful not to 'connect' too deeply with him, a fact that he found comforting. Indeed, sometimes just feeling her presence, like he had as a small child, was comforting. _That_ stirred a deep fear in him at how easily it could disappear again.

" _Squall, you can't let your past ruin your future. Let it go and move forward. It's waiting for you. SHE is waiting for you…"_ Ellone had told him that just a few days ago when she'd felt his anxieties through their connection.

But that forced sharing of minds with Laguna Loire had given Squall far too deep of an insight into the man. He felt what Laguna had felt, saw what he saw. He knew that Laguna Loire had fallen in love with the young woman named Raine that had nursed him back to health. He knew that he also loved Ellone as though she were his own daughter. He also knew that Laguna Loire was a terrible actor, a courageous (if a little freewheeling) soldier, and a decent enough writer who was pathetically awkward around beautiful women.

Squall Leonhart knew far more about the President of Esthar than he had ever wanted to learn. It _had_ helped him however to negotiate with the man over the Ragnarok. After a protracted conversation via teleconference with both President Loire and Prime Minister Kiros, one in which Squall surprised them both by reminding them that the Law of Salvage applied to space as well as the sea, they acknowledged the fact that according to that law, the Ragnarok was his.

However, since it was uniquely Estharian in design, and only Esthar had the tools, materials and technology needed to maintain it, Laguna retained the right to call upon the Ragnarok and the SeeDs that flew it whenever he needed them in exchange for the repairs and fuel the airship needed.

At this very moment, per that agreement, the Ragnarok was winging its way to Esthar with a team of SeeDs to assist the president with the influx of monsters from the Lunar Cry that still plagued the country. The president had specifically asked if Squall would lead the team, but Squall had declined citing a prior commitment, and instead had given the command to Quistis.

The town was just waking up as Squall and his companions, Rinoa's hand firmly grasping his, walked up the unpaved road toward the town square. The two semi-retired mercenaries that protected the town were already out patrolling, and they nodded silently in greeting, recognizing Squall from a previous visit.

From them, Squall had learned that the patron that sponsored their 'retirement' was a former resident turned high profile political figure. Laguna Loire.

* * *

Rinoa looked around with interest as they strode through the town, finding it quaint and attractive. She rather liked the quiet, rural air of the village. Fields of flowers, vegetable gardens and other crops lined the dirt road into the town, the homes and businesses were all picturesque and pretty, covered with ivy and flowers, and the town square was beautifully paved with native granite.

As they walked through the town, Rinoa looked off to one side of the square and saw an abandoned, decaying home and the defunct pub, notorious now for the Winhill ghost that haunted it.

They had heard of her in Timber. No one really knew how she'd died, but she'd haunted the pub for nearly twenty years, and the more adventurous of the Owls had actually gone to Winhill to see her for themselves. They confirmed that the stories about her were true. When they'd asked the townsfolk about her however, no one would talk to them. As insular as the Winhill residents were that wasn't much of a surprise.

That was one reason why she'd chosen the old Winhill pub as their meeting place. Nobody went there willingly, so her thought was that no one would bother them there. It was abandoned and so should be completely private.

She glanced over at Selphie and Zell, who had apparently caught Squall's somber mood and were quiet. They too were scanning the surroundings warily, making Rinoa wonder what she was missing.

They walked through the square and headed up a narrow, dirt-paved street. They passed a flower shop, the one that Rinoa had called and ordered the bouquet she sent to Timber from, and a small general store sitting catty-corner to the hotel.

They walked into the hotel and headed directly to the check in desk. Rinoa studied the surroundings, liking the warm, rustic atmosphere of the small lobby and the restaurant that occupied a portion of the bottom floor of the building. As always, flowers were everywhere. Beautiful purple, blue and deep reddish black iris blooms sat in a black ceramic vase on a table just inside the entranceway, with earthen pots of lavender and crystal bowls with floating waterflowers and lotus in them on the tables in the restaurant. The arrangements were everywhere, and each one was unique and beautiful.

The manager himself checked them in, asking for the name they'd register under.

"Heartilly." Rinoa answered.

"We have a suite available for you and your friends, Ms. Heartilly, would you like that?" the man asked in a friendly manner. Rinoa glanced at Squall, who nodded silently.

"That will be three hundred gil for the suite. Will that be cash or charge?" the manager asked.

"Charge." Squall said, handing his card over.

"Okay, thank you." The manager took the card and ran it, frowning as he read the name on the bottom.

"Squall… _Leonhart_?" He asked, staring.

"Yes. Is there a problem?" Squall asked coolly.

"Yes. I mean, no. May I see your ID please?" the man asked. Squall frowned, handing it over. What was the guy's problem? He got a similar reaction from the old man in the general store down the street the last time he'd been in Winhill.

"You're a _SeeD_?" the man whispered, putting his hand over his mouth. _Some_ kind of emotion swam in the man's eyes, but Squall couldn't identify it.

Squall studied the man, curious about his reactions. He was middle-aged, with brown hair fading to silver at the temples. Squall had never met the man before, hadn't stayed at this hotel when he'd come through Winhill last, and Laguna had never spent time here either. So no memories of him whatsoever. And yet, like the flower shop owner, he looked at Squall as though he were a ghost, returned to haunt him.

Swallowing down his emotions, the manager of the hotel handed over the receipt, which Squall then signed. Retrieving his credit card and ID, Squall indicated that the man should hand the key over to Rinoa. Then he followed her upstairs into the suite they'd rented for the night.

The hotel manager studied the young SeeD as he left with his companions. It wasn't possible, was it? The Leonhart name was an old one in Winhill, but despite the honor that its antiquity had given it, the name had ceased to exist seventeen years ago, when Raine Leonhart Loire died in childbirth. She was the last of the line, and when she and her child died, so did the name. Or so he'd thought.

He remembered Raine with a pang, wishing that she hadn't taken up with that Galbadian soldier. But she was deeply in love with him, and he with her. The man had done his best here in Winhill, had even done a pretty decent job protecting the town. But there was just one of him. When the Esthar soldiers came and kidnapped Ellone, he'd nearly been killed trying to protect her.

When he was well enough to travel, he set out on a quest to find his adoptive daughter for his new wife, unaware that she was carrying his son; the son that had taken her life at his birthing. The son that nearly everyone else save the midwife and attendants at the birth, thought had also died. But Ellone knew he'd survived, she'd been there. It was easy though to dismiss the four-year-old child's assertion that her baby brother was still alive. Laguna Loire had found Ellone in Esthar and sent her back to Raine, but his return had been delayed. Delayed long enough for Raine to die in childbirth, for Ellone and his newborn son to be sent to an orphanage.

Their whole story was tragic. To this day, the hotel manager, an old friend of Raine's, wished that things could have turned out differently. He, and everyone else, had been told that the baby had died along with Raine, and when Laguna Loire had returned, that's what he'd been told as well. It was a shock for him to see a young man wearing Raine's face and bearing her family name, come walking into his hotel.

Yet another ghost had arrived to haunt Winhill.

* * *

"That was weird," Zell commented as they entered the room that they'd rented.

"Yeah, seriously. I'm beginning to think the people here are just plain strange." Selphie said.

Squall remained silent, as he mostly had since they'd gotten there. It was beginning to worry Rinoa. Something was going on, something was bothering him, but she knew if she asked him he wouldn't answer. She wasn't sure he even knew what the answer _was_.

She wouldn't let go of his hand however, kept that tenuous contact constant. He let her, following along with her as she wandered through the room. He smiled slightly at her comments upon the warm wood floors, the comfortable, homey furnishings, and the pots of flowers that were _everywhere_.

"Wow," She sighed. "This is actually really nice. And so many flowers here!" Rinoa stuck her face into a nearby bouquet and inhaled deeply, closing her eyes, then letting her breath out with a sigh. It was more than nice. It threatened to be positively romantic…if a certain SeeD allowed it to be.

There were three rooms in the suite, and Squall was going to suggest that Rinoa room with Selphie, while he and Zell would each get a room to themselves. He could handle sharing a room with Zell if necessary, and had done so in the past. But he preferred his privacy, and for more than one reason.

There was Rinoa of course, but he wasn't sure he wanted to get too wrapped up in her while he was supposed to be working. Oh, he _wanted_ her, no doubts there… but he worried about how he was going to handle their new relationship while working on this mission for her. Then of course there was the fact that he simply needed a refuge. A place to go to decompress. Sometimes, spending too much time around too many people just got to be too much for him and he had to get away.

Sometimes, even _Rinoa_ got to be too much. The intensity of what he felt for her frightened him. He couldn't run away from it, or her; nor did he want to. So he withdrew occasionally to regroup. He thought he'd try to explain that to her sometime, so that he didn't have to see the hurt in her eyes when he did that. He wasn't sure he could do it in a way that she'd understand however.

"I love flowers Squall," she said, smiling up at him then. Her eyes sparkled warmly at him, and her lips were slightly parted and oh, so tempting… He knew what they tasted like now.

"You do, huh?" Squall asked, wondering if maybe he _should_ just let Selphie have her own room tonight.

"Yeah. Did you know that sending flowers to someone could convey a message? Certain flowers and plants mean certain things." Rinoa said.

"Really? Like a code?" Squall asked, interested.

"Yes. That was why I needed your credit card to send that message to the Owls. I ordered a flower arrangement from the shop here in Winhill and had it sent to our message drop in Timber." Rinoa explained.

"What was the arrangement?" Squall asked, curiously. He had wondered how the resistance factions in Timber had communicated. Rinoa told him.

"And the message it sent?" He prompted.

"'Courage. Be a strong patriot. Justice will be done and we are resolved to win Timber's independence. We expect to meet in Winhill on the night of the new moon. Bring the owls.'" Rinoa quoted.

"All of that from a bouquet of flowers?" Squall asked her. She nodded.

"Show me." He requested.

"Okay. Let's go to the flower shop then." Rinoa said.

Squall told Zell and Selphie that they were on free time until nightfall, and could do whatever they wanted to do. Then he took his duffel bag and gear and selected the bedroom he wanted, tossing it onto the bed. Rinoa's bag landed next to his.

He paused, studying her silently before asking, "You sure?"

She nodded, "Yes. I don't need to be a mind reader to know what you're thinking regarding us, Squall Leonhart. I know you need your space, and I promise I'll give that to you. But I won't let you drift away from me either, no matter what kind of anxieties are eating at you. Remember what you've learned up to this point, and follow your heart. It hasn't steered you wrong yet, has it?"

Squall shook his head. "No."

"Good. Now that's out of the way, let's go to the flower shop, and I'll clue you in on the Timber Flower Code." Rinoa said, taking his hand again.

* * *

They walked down the dirt street hand in hand, looking exactly like what they were, a young couple out enjoying the day. Nobody needed to know the real reason they were in town.

The morning had progressed, burning the mist away and leaving the sun shining brightly on the picturesque village. Off to the east in the far distance, a threatening smudge of cloud had begun to build. It would likely bring rain to Winhill, though the storm appeared to be days away.

The walk to the flower shop was a short one, and they passed no one on the way. Again, they were silent, but Rinoa was beginning to enjoy the silence. It was comfortable, companionable. And she could hear birdsong, smell flowers, and enjoy the sweet breeze and the strong hand gripping hers gently.

They entered the flower shop and Rinoa smiled brightly at the grandmotherly woman who ran it, and tugged Squall over to a table laden with pots and vases containing all kinds of flowers and plants.

"The flower code goes like this: each type of flower or plant conveys a different meaning. The way they are arranged in a vase is sort of like a sentence, a paragraph. Watch." Rinoa instructed, locating an empty vase and randomly sticking flowers and plants into it. The arrangement ended up looking quite lovely, and Squall couldn't help but be impressed at Rinoa's aesthetic sense while she was doing it.

"Okay. That's actually very pretty, what you're doing there. What does it mean?" Squall asked.

"Well, altogether, nothing really. I've just put some flowers in it to illustrate." Rinoa explained, then indicated a perfect red rose in the center of it. "Red flowers usually symbolize love. Red roses _always_ mean love, desire, and passion. White usually symbolizes purity, innocence."

"What about these other ones? You said each plant and flower means a different thing." Squall asked.

"Right." Rinoa answered, then indicated one of the flowers. "This is a violet. It means modesty and simplicity. If it's blue, it means faithfulness. A Dane violet means watchfulness, and a yellow violet means rural happiness. This," Rinoa touched a sprig of leaves "is walnut. It symbolizes intellect, stratagem. This is Balamb willow, and it symbolizes bravery and humanity" Rinoa indicated another sprig of leaves.

Squall narrowed his eyes, studying the arrangement, then indicated the rest of the plants and asked, "What about these?"

"Water willow for freedom. Purple lilac for the first emotions of love, the ice plant means 'your looks freeze me'. They do, by the way. Why else do you think I came up to you at the dance?" Rinoa smiled at him.

Squall raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly, saying, "But that means that you weren't frozen, doesn't it? You came up to me and dragged me off to dance."

Rinoa laughed slightly, "Well, yes. After I managed to recover my wits."

Squall's smile got larger for a moment before it faded and he observed, "This is really very intricate, this code. I can see how it would be hard to crack. You'd have to have an intimate knowledge of the forest and the plants in and around Timber in order to be able to do this well."

"Yes. We'd pass coded notes too. We'd stick them in one of Zone's favorite magazines in the Timber Maniacs offices. Usually, a note along with an arrangement of flowers was how we'd communicate anything important." Rinoa said. Squall nodded.

"Now," Rinoa continued. "I'm going to show you a couple of important messages. If you learn nothing else, learn these. They could save your life."

Squall watched as Rinoa carefully selected the plants she wanted and put them in the arrangement.

" _Achillea Millefolia_ – War, _Bay (Rose) Rhododendron_ \- Danger. Beware,

 _Cypress_ \- Death. Mourning, _Hand Flower Tree_ – Warning. If someone sends you dead flowers, it is also a message of death, but of a personal nature. It means that person wants you dead, and intends to kill you. And finally, there is this: _Pennyroyal_ \- Flee away. If we see that, we need to get out of whatever situation we're in immediately." Rinoa explained to him.

The shop owner, curious as to what Rinoa was doing messing about with her flowers, finally came up to them and asked, "Is there something I can help you with miss?"

Rinoa smiled brightly at her and answered, "No, ma'am, I was just fiddling around with your flowers and things. I hope you don't mind. Flower arranging is kind of a hobby of mine."

"Oh, no. In fact, you've come up with some very unique arrangements just now. Might I ask what you're doing here in Winhill? We don't get many visitors in these parts." The woman asked.

Rinoa glanced over at Squall, then smiled and answered, "Well…I know this sounds kind of silly, but my boyfriend and I heard about the Winhill ghost and wanted to see her."

The shop owner looked up at Squall then and narrowed her eyes, asking, "Have I seen you before? You look familiar. Come closer so I can get a better look at you. My old eyes aren't what they used to be."

"I've been here before, yes." Squall answered, stepping closer to the woman as requested.

"I remember now, you're that young SeeD that was in here a few weeks ago. What's your name?" the woman asked him.

"Squall Leonhart." He answered. The woman froze, staring.

"My God." She whispered. "I thought that flower order had been a prank. I mean, it was a girl's voice that called in the card…"

"That was me, ma'am." Rinoa said, frowning.

"The card is valid," Squall said, frowning at the woman as well.

"I know. But…they said you'd died. They said you'd _both_ died." The woman continued staring at Squall, pale and shaken. She looked like she'd seen a ghost…something that Squall had seen a lot in this town lately.

"Well, we both survived and sorceress Ultimecia is dead." Rinoa assured her.

The old woman stared at Rinoa, confused, and asked, "Ultimecia who?"

Squall and Rinoa exchanged a glance, and Squall asked slowly, "What did you mean then?"

"That damn midwife lied to me. She lied to all of us, curse her immortal soul." The woman said bitterly, without acknowledging Squall's question. Then she reached up, much to Squall's surprise, and touched his cheek.

"Curse my old eyes for not seeing this before." She whispered, eyes filling with tears. "You look just like her."

Squall swallowed, fear beginning to form a ball of ice in his guts. Fear of a truth he was perilously close to learning and was not sure he wanted to know.

"Like who?" He managed through dry lips.

"Like your mother. She loved flowers, and grew the most beautiful lilies…"the woman said wistfully.

 _Nobody understood flowers like Raine did…the white ones were her favorites…_

"My mother?" Squall asked, surprised that his voice sounded as steady as it did, when inside he was quaking.

"Yes. Your mother," the woman answered. "Raine Leonhart."

Squall simply stared at her, frozen. _Raine. Raine was his mother._

* * *

Squall walked slowly out of the shop without another word, pale with shock and silent. Rinoa gripped his hand firmly, but he didn't acknowledge her presence.

He was lost in his jumbled memories concerning the woman Raine; the woman who he'd just learned was his mother. The flower shop owner had told Rinoa that Raine had died in childbirth, and everyone in town had been told that the child, a boy, _him…_ had died with her.

There was more, he knew. No one had mentioned if Raine had been married or to whom, but Squall wasn't so naïve as to think that she had gotten pregnant with him on her own. He had to have a father. But if the folk in Winhill knew who he was, they weren't saying. Either that, or he wasn't asking the right questions of the right people.

He wished he could turn his mind off, so that it wouldn't keep thinking about it, about Raine, and about everything he'd learned and experienced concerning her in the last few weeks. But his mind wouldn't rest, and it kept recalling bits and snatches of things, clues that he'd seen and heard that began to fit together to form a picture. _Curse the Guardians for not eating those memories.._

 _She wanted to show him her newborn baby…_

 _Let's talk when it's all done…_

 _Uncle Laguna, wouldn't it be nice if you 'n Raine got married…?_

 _She took up with that outsider…that Galbadian fellow…_

It was while he was wandering aimlessly in a grassy field just outside of town, Rinoa still silent and worried beside him, that the final piece fell into place. He came upon a grassy knoll with a lovely view of the town and noticed that it appeared to have been…. tended. The grass was cut short, the better to show the marble plaque that lay on the ground, and the fresh white lilies that sat in a vase nearby. It was a grave.

There was no inscription on the marker, only a name. Raine Loire. _Raine…Loire?_

The shock hit him like a bolt of lightning and he dropped to his knees. _NO…it wasn't possible. Was it?_

 _You don't look anything like your father…._

The mist had been burned away and Squall saw clearly the picture all of those pieces had fitted together to form. His father was alive and well and living in Esthar as its president. Right on the heels of this shocking realization, came another, one that brought with it a surge of rage. _His father, Laguna Loire, had abandoned his mother and left her to die alone and in pain._

"Squall?" Rinoa's voice, dragging him back to the here and now, like it had done once before.

He looked over at her and saw that her eyes swam with tears. Tears for _him_. She fell to her knees beside him and flung her arms around him, holding him tightly. Slowly, he put his arms around her as well and buried his face in her hair, breathing its scent.

He felt the warmth of Rinoa's tears wetting his shirt as she wept silently for him, and he felt his own eyes stinging with tears. He didn't know what it was that he was feeling; his emotions were a confused jumble of anger, pain and grief. It was an emotional tangle that he suspected would take a lifetime to sort out.

For the moment however, they simply held each other, bound together by a loss that they both shared.

Rinoa and Squall both had thought that he was an orphan, so she had felt a commonality with him based upon the fact that he, like her, had lost his mother. She had thought it odd however that he'd never spoken of his parents, had never given any sign that he'd even known who they were. From that, Rinoa had deduced that he'd been orphaned at a very young age and had never known them.

Now, it turned out that one of his parents was still alive. What that meant for Squall, Rinoa didn't know. She only knew that the realization was devastating to him, and he needed her.

So, she held him tight, and welcomed his silent tears that wet her hair.

* * *

Author's note: The Timber Flower Code is based upon the Invictus Flower code, widely in use during Victorian times.


	4. Of Owls and Lions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4: Of Owls and Lions

Chapter 4: Of Owls and Lions

They walked slowly back to the hotel, Rinoa's fingers still entangled with Squall's. She wondered now, what he'd do. He knew who his mother was, and there was a good possibility that his father was still alive somewhere. She wondered if he would try to find out who he was and look for him.

Rinoa had not seen the entire name that was inscribed upon his mother's marker. When Squall had dropped to his knees, he'd partially obscured it. So, the only thing she'd seen was Raine L-, which she took to be Leonhart. She hadn't seen that Raine had been buried under the name, _Loire_.

"Do you think your father's still alive?" She asked him as they walked.

"Yes." He answered in a curiously flat voice. He had drawn in upon himself, Rinoa had noticed. In this one case, she didn't blame him. It had to be shocking to find out something like this out of the blue.

"Do… do you want to look for him? Find out who he is?" Rinoa asked.

Squall was silent for a long moment, then he answered, "No." _I already know._

"Why?" Rinoa asked him.

"Why bother? I've managed this long without him." Squall said, his voice still flat and emotionless.

 _Why_ had he wept for a woman he'd never known? _But he DID know her; Ellone had shown her to him._ It was an unintended gift she had given him while trying to change the circumstances of both of their lives. Or perhaps it was a curse. Either way, Squall had seen his mother's face without realizing it.

And yes, it was the same face he saw in the mirror every morning… a bit more masculine perhaps, but not by much. _Pretty boy_ , next to _puberty boy,_ had been one of Seifer's favorite insults. He'd almost thanked Seifer for the scar slashed across his face, marring that beauty.

He actually rather liked it now. People viewed him in a different manner than they had before. His perception of the scar was that it made him appear more dangerous and less 'pretty'. He could live with dangerous.

And even scarred, Rinoa had _still_ thought he was the best-looking SeeD at his graduation ball.

She had wept in sympathy with him. Indeed, it seemed that coming upon Raine's grave had affected her more deeply than it had Squall. He supposed that it had to do with the fact that her mother was also dead. His reaction had been mostly one of shock and betrayal. There was also anger mixed with a hint of grief. Anger at Laguna for abandoning Raine, anger that the man Squall still considered to be a moron was actually his father.

The grief was distant, but still there. Its very existence was a puzzle to him however. Why grieve for what he'd never experienced, for a woman he'd never known? Perhaps it was an outgrowth of the love that Laguna had felt for her. Squall had felt that too. Had come to know her through him, with Ellone as the conduit connecting the two of them. Father to son.

He couldn't help but feel a little creeped by it.

He shook himself mentally. He was brooding again, caught up in the emotions of the moment and becoming impatient with it all. He wished he hadn't had to come to Winhill; there were too damn many ghosts here.

They were wandering through the town square again when Rinoa commented about the pub, saying with a frown, "That's odd. The pub doesn't look as abandoned as I thought it would. There are fresh flowers in the box at the second floor window." The pub itself was definitely shut and had an air of disuse, but the second floor showed signs of life.

"It's not abandoned. An artist lives in the loft apartment above the pub now." Squall said.

Rinoa frowned, "well, that's a complication, we can't simply barge into her home in the middle of the night."

"Her home's on the top floor, and she's not running the pub." Squall observed.

"Still, maybe we should let her know…" Rinoa began, then her voice trailed off at Squall's level look.

"Inform a perfect stranger that we know nothing about of our plans to meet with a group of rebels and revolutionaries from Timber to plot a rebellion? Do you think that's wise?" Squall asked her.

Rinoa thought for a moment he was mocking her. In the past, he'd have said something sarcastic bordering on mean. For Squall, sarcasm was a weapon that he wielded as well as his gunblade. Both could leave you bleeding in an instant. But his voice was level. Calm. He was simply asking her a question: _do you think that's wise?_

He was forcing her to think differently than she had in the past. What they were about to undertake would go one step beyond what she'd done with the Owls previously. She had naively thought that hiring a SeeD to help would somehow make everything work and Timber would be free. But in order to do that, sacrifices would have to be made, and it seemed that one of the first things to be sacrificed upon the altar of freedom would be trust.

Not if Rinoa could help it. They would have to be cautious, yes. But Rinoa refused to believe that everyone was a potential enemy.

"You never know Squall, she might end up an ally." Rinoa said.

Squall shook his head, "Why would Timber's freedom matter to her? We don't know enough to judge one way or another. It's safer for everyone if we meet the Owls in the pub, but move the discussion elsewhere."

Rinoa sighed, then nodded, "You're right. Just you and I go tonight to meet them then, and we'll go someplace else to talk."

Squall nodded, saying, "let's go back to the hotel."

"We have the whole day still. What are we going to do?" Rinoa asked him.

Squall shrugged, "Well, for starters, lunch. I could do with something to eat."

"Yeah, me too." Rinoa responded.

They returned to the hotel and went into the small restaurant in the lobby. Rinoa chose their table based upon the flower arrangement in the center. Squall smiled slightly as she toyed with the flowers a bit, wondering what she read from the mix of lilies and irises that made up the bouquet. He tried to remember what she'd said about that. White lilies…. white always meant purity. The irises…he frowned, unable to recall if Rinoa had mentioned that particular flower.

Catching his frown, Rinoa asked, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," Squall reassured her. "I was just trying to remember what you'd told me about the flower code."

Rinoa smiled brightly at him and asked, "You want to know what this arrangement says?"

Squall nodded, and Rinoa told him, "Well, the white lilies symbolize purity, and the irises mean faith and hope. The rest of it…. well, there's baby's breath for a pure heart, and ivy for marital fidelity. Taken together, the message could be interpreted a number of ways, if this arrangement was deliberate. It could be read to mean the person arranging it had just gotten married and has faith and hope that the purity of their union, of their heart, would result in a lasting, faithful relationship with their spouse. Or, that the person is _hoping_ for such a relationship, not having achieved it yet."

Squall did his thoughtful, puzzled-puppy head tilt again and Rinoa bit back a smile. She found that odd little quirk of his endlessly adorable. It was one of the first things about him that drew her to him. That and his laser-like blue eyes. She'd looked up at the falling star, followed its path and met that keen, cool gaze. And he'd tilted his head, as though puzzled at her regard. It had left her no choice but to investigate that mystery.

It had deepened as she drew closer. His eyes, she'd discovered, were not _just_ blue but flecked with silver and sparked with emerald, clear and cold as a winter sea and just as mutable. They hinted at wild storms leading to icy depths. His features were almost delicate, pretty, but the fresh slash across his face gave him a dangerous edge and saved him from looking too feminine. As for the rest? Tall, but not too tall, lean, dashing in the formal uniform and silently remote…and surprisingly graceful when he finally made up his mind to stop fighting her and actually _dance_.

The waitress appeared then and gave them each a glass of ice water and took their orders. From her they'd discovered that Selphie and Zell had already eaten lunch there and disappeared again.

A cold nose against her hand prompted Rinoa to pat Angelo's head. The waitress either hadn't noticed him lying quietly under the table or hadn't cared to mention it. Regardless of the morning's revelations, _he_ at least had enjoyed their wanderings.

"Are you going to tell Zell and Selphie about our change in the meeting location?" she asked him.

He paused for a moment, setting his glass of water down, and then answered, "Yeah. As soon as they get back. I'll see if they can't scout around to find someplace a little more easily secured and remote."

"All right. In the meantime, we'll still have hours to kill before we need to go. We're not meeting until midnight." Rinoa said. She hoped that _those_ hours might be spent in a more pleasant manner than the hours they'd experienced prior to lunch. She wondered if his mind was wandering along the same track that hers was at the moment. It had been _days_ since he'd touched her and Rinoa suddenly found she missed that touch. Ached for it, as a matter of fact. She wondered if he felt the same way.

"I need to check my email. I brought the laptop and I seem to remember them mentioning a wifi setup here. I didn't expect that for a place the size of Winhill, but it _is_ convenient. I'll check in with our intelligence contacts in Deling City too, see if there've been any new developments there that might impact this mission…" Squall said, pausing when their lunches arrived.

When the waitress left, he continued, "We should probably try and sleep too. No telling how late things'll run tonight..."

Okay, apparently not. She had to admire his focus, but sometimes he was just a little bit dense where she was concerned. Sighing inwardly, Rinoa decided to give him a hint as to what _she_ wanted, and started thinking of how she might go about doing that as they ate.

Turned out, it wasn't as difficult as she'd thought it would be. All she had to do was kiss him.

The moment they entered the bedroom Squall had chosen, he headed for the bed and the gear that had been piled upon it, intending to retrieve his laptop from its carrying case. Rinoa shut the door and before he reached the bed, she grabbed his hand and tugged at it, pulling him toward her.

He resisted only slightly before giving a mental shrug and following that tug to stand in front of her. He looked down and parted his lips to say something, perhaps to ask her what she wanted, but Rinoa beat him to it by sliding her hands behind his head, into his hair and pulling him into a kiss.

He froze in surprise, seemed to hesitate a moment, then pulled her body against his and deepened the kiss, sweeping his tongue over hers and making her melt from the heat. He tasted teased and plundered her lips, kissing her thoroughly, nuzzling lightly along her cheek as he made his way to the delicate skin on her neck.

Kissing and nipping lightly, and making Rinoa both shiver and burn, he whispered roughly, "we shouldn't be doing this."

"Why?" Rinoa asked, trying not to smile as he continued to kiss and caress her even as he was telling her why he should _not_.

Trailing his lips down her neck to her cleavage, which he'd revealed by unbuttoning her blouse, he murmured between kisses, "not professional…. You're my client…. we're on a job…."

"I don't care." Rinoa whispered fiercely, tugging at his jacket. He obligingly pulled it off for her and directed his attention back to her, pulling off her shirt and undoing her bra.

She gasped and bit her lip as his tongue stroked one nipple, then the other, then moaned and speared her fingers through his hair as his lips closed over one and he sucked in earnest.

Coming up for air he breathed, "I don't care either." He clamped his lips over hers again, tasting her already well-kissed lips while working at the rest of her clothing. He left off for a moment while Rinoa pulled off his shirt, and then pulled her back against him. Chest to chest, skin to skin, heart to pounding heart.

He turned away from her for a moment and moved their bags from the bed to the floor and unbuckled his belts, dropping his gunblade and ammo belt with a thud. The rest of his clothing quickly followed suit.

Retrieving a small packet from his pocket, he turned toward the bed to find Rinoa there, waiting for him. He smiled at her and twitched the packet between his fingers, prompting her to laugh, and then beckon him forward.

"Learned your lesson, didn't you?" she asked as he joined her on the bed and pulled her into his arms.

He nodded, kissing her, and answered, "mistakes are allowed, as long as you learn from them." He laid the item aside for the moment and picked up where they'd left off, running his hand lightly up and down the smooth skin of her back and pressing her close, nibbling at her ears and neck again.

She sighed and shivered in response, and then reached down and fondled him, forcing a groan from him. Her touch, stroking him gently, bad him teetering on the brink…he finally had to stop her before things went too far, and reached for the packet.

"Let me," Rinoa said, taking it from him.

She covered him deftly and he moved over her, observing, "You've gotten better at that." He held that position, just touching her, subtly teasing her. His pendant dangled just above her chest, as he paused in a breathless moment.

"I've been practicing." She said.

He frowned, puzzled, then asked, "How?" _And with whom?_

"With a banana, then a cucumber." She answered. He stared at her in shock, and then burst out laughing. Rinoa stared back at him. _He was laughing!_ She thought back over the last few weeks that she'd known him and realized that she'd never heard him laugh before.

It transformed him, made his eyes sparkle and crinkle up at the edges, and his teeth flash white as he grinned at her. It might have broken the mood, coming at such an odd moment as this, but…. it didn't.

"I made you laugh," She whispered, heart taking wing within her chest, reaching up to stroke his cheek.

His gaze softened and he leaned into the caress, a smile still curling the edges of his lips, and he said, "You did."

"Wow." She said, eyes full of wonder. Then she closed them as he captured her lips in a kiss, this one so sweet it made her ache. Then he entered her and the ache became bliss.

His pendant came to rest between her breasts as he lowered himself to her, the cold metal quickly warming as their bodies trapped it. She stroked her hands down his back, feeling the smooth, warm skin, the bunch and flex of his muscles as he moved. Her heart pounded and her breath came in short gasps as Squall's movements stoked her tension.

It ratcheted up stroke by stroke, and Rinoa couldn't help the moans and cries that came from her, encouraging him to up the ante and drive harder and faster. She wrapped her legs and arms around him and held on, nails digging into his back and making him gasp.

And then…. magic happened. That was the only way she could describe it. The tension broke free within her, dragging a long, shivering moan along with it, and releasing a warm rush of power that flooded through her body and into Squall's like an electric current. She trembled as her body rocked and pulsed with that power, and Squall collapsed on top of her, breathing raggedly and moaning as well as that power triggered his release.

"Gods…" He panted. "What was _that_?"

"I don't know." She managed breathlessly. She could feel his heart, beating heavily in his chest, still pressed against her. She could feel him, still throbbing within her. Everything suddenly seemed…. more. Sharper. Clearer. More immediate, more intense…. just _more_.

"Did you do that?" he asked her.

"I think so." She answered.

He shifted then and raised himself up a bit, stroking her hair back gently, and kissed her. "Amazing." he whispered.

"Yeah," She whispered back. She tightened her arms around him, and he nearly crushed her with his embrace.

He stayed there for a moment, supporting himself on his elbows and smiling slightly down at her, saying, "well, so much for checking email. Shall we try the nap then?"

Rinoa laughed softly, "Yeah, that's a good idea."

Then Squall started laughing again as he remembered. "I can't believe you. A cucumber?"

"Well, it worked didn't it? It was accurate at least." She said.

" _Accurate_?" he frowned down at her. _What the hell was that supposed to mean?_ He wondered. "Should I be flattered?"

"Definitely." She said.

He kissed her lightly on the nose and smiled, "thank you." Then he finally got up and went into the bathroom, joining her under the covers and pulling her close when he returned.

"You perv," he said, kissing her softly. "Abusing defenseless vegetables like that. I'll never be able to look at a cucumber the same way again."

"Then you probably won't want to know what I did to the banana." Rinoa said innocently.

"Okay, I know I'm going to regret this…what did you do to the banana?" Squall asked.

" I ate it. _Slowly_." Rinoa answered. Squall cracked up again.

* * *

Zell ran up the stairs to the room that they'd rented, wondering if Squall and Rinoa had returned from wherever they'd gone. Selphie wanted to investigate a nearby chocobo forest and had forgotten her nunchakus. Zell had volunteered to run back to the room and fetch them, and if Squall was around to check in with him.

The pub was probably not the best place to meet after all, Zell reflected. Not when someone occupied the top floor. He had some ideas for a solution for that dilemma though, which he'd discuss with Squall as soon as he ran across him.

Entering the room, he noticed the door to the bedroom that Squall had claimed was closed. It looked like Squall had returned. _Probably working on something,_ he thought. Grabbing Selphie's weapon, Zell headed toward the closed door, intending to knock and let Squall know he was back and have a quick word with him.

As he got closer to the door, Zell heard voices. They were muffled and indistinct, but the tones and timbres of the voices told Zell that they belonged to Squall and Rinoa. Zell had just raised his hand to knock on the door when he heard the moans. He nearly dropped Selphie's nunchukus in surprise.

 _NO WAY!_ Zell thought, staring in shock at the door. Then his face split into a huge grin, as the moans got louder. Obviously, Squall was back. And ….he was _busy._ _Real busy._

Laughing quietly, Zell turned to leave, not wanting to bother Squall at that particular moment … _at all_ … thinking, _it's about damn time. I was beginning to worry about you bro._ Then he remembered that Selphie was likely to come barging through that door at any moment and if _she_ got wind of this…Well, Zell wouldn't put it past her to want to throw an "End of the Ice Age" party for Squall, complete with cherry themed refreshments and red balloons. It would be a disaster.

He hurried out the door to find her, thinking hard about the best way to keep her distracted and out of that room for…. however long Squall needed.

He ran into her coming up the hallway, and heaved a sigh of relief that he'd caught up to her in time.

"Oh, hey, you got 'em! Thanks. Um, is Squall back yet?" Selphie asked him.

"Ahh.. no. Not yet." Zell answered her.

"Oh, darn. Well, I just remembered I needed to grab something else from my room so I'll just pop in there for a second and…" Selphie said, and Zell panicked.

"No! Don't!" he gulped, eyes wide.

"Why?" She asked, curiously.

"Uh…. well…uh… I just thought of something. Isn't the fall formal coming up?" Zell asked, seizing upon the one subject guaranteed to distract her.

"Yeah…I haven't really started planning yet though. Its months away." Selphie said, frowning.

"Well, you should check out the flower shop here. They've got all kinds of flowers. Maybe you could get some decorating ideas?" he suggested.

Selphie brightened, "Yeah, that's a great idea! Let's go!" She grabbed her nunchakus and started skipping down the hallway. Heaving a sigh of relief at the close call, Zell followed after her.

* * *

Squall lay in bed, watching Rinoa sleep. He'd managed a little sleep as well, although he found it awkward trying to get comfortable with another body occupying the bed. Despite the rule that you slept when and where you could when you were on a job, Squall in this case found it difficult.

It left him entirely too much time to think, something that he couldn't seem to stop doing lately.

A memory surfaced, one that he'd pushed so far from his mind that he'd practically _fed_ it to his Guardians. But they were selective in what they supplanted, and this memory was too recent for them to want to disturb. Still, he'd avoided thinking about it so well that he'd nearly forgotten it.

He'd nearly forgotten that Laguna had _told_ him that he was his father.

It was just before they'd gone to fight Ultimecia. Laguna had requested that Squall follow him and led him into one of the conference rooms on the Ragnarok. Squall already suspected something was up with Laguna and his friends, something that concerned him personally. Kiros had essentially told Squall that he'd known his parents.

Still, it had come as a shock when Laguna had quietly said to him, "I know the timing for this probably isn't the best but I thought I'd better tell you this now, in case…. in case I don't get another chance. I just recently found this out myself, actually. Squall, I'm your father."

He'd simply stared at Laguna, not willing to acknowledge or accept that statement, and walked out of the room without a word. He hadn't wanted to believe it. It was too preposterous, too insane. Too insulting. Laguna? His _father_? So he'd shoved it aside and refused to think about it.

It had been easy to forget. Fighting for both his and Rinoa's life and trying to save her and the rest of the world from Ultimecia had driven it from his mind quite nicely. He suspected junctioning Eden for nearly a month had helped. Squall shuddered. Eden was a huge, ancient, and _hungry_ GF, absorbing anything and everything it could from its host. By the time he dropped the junction, Squall was surprised he was even able to remember his own _name_.

Having had solid proof shoved in his face that morning, Squall was forced to accept the fact that Laguna Loire _had_ in fact sired him. But he didn't have to like it.

Rinoa sighed and shifted, and Squall smiled slightly at her, his heart turning over in his chest. She looked so innocent, so beautiful and radiant, her pale skin still showing a rosy flush from their lovemaking. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers lightly, just enough to feel their warmth, their softness, and to get a hint of their flavor. He pulled back and smiled again as she simply sighed once more and slept on.

Stroking his hand lightly over her silken hair, Squall left her sleeping and got up to take a shower and get dressed. He still had work to do, and no amount of emotional storms or family drama would change that fact. It was getting harder and harder to lock away emotions that he didn't want to deal with, they had become too insistent to contain any longer. But he could at least focus upon something else for a while.

Zell and Selphie found him sitting at the table in the main room of the suite, tapping away at his laptop computer when they finally returned from wherever they'd been. He'd changed into a black, long sleeved knit shirt and a pair of black jeans in anticipation of their midnight meeting with the Owls.

"Oh, good, you're back." Zell said, giving no sign that he knew Squall had been back for quite some time, and what he'd been doing during that time.

"I was beginning to wonder where you two had wandered off to." Squall commented absently, absorbed in reading his email.

"We went _all over_ this town. Its sooo cute! We chased chicabos at this chocobo crossing until their mother got mad and started chasing _u_ s, then we checked out the general store, and this _gorgeous_ flower shop. I got a _ton_ of ideas for the fall formal. It's going to be _awesome_!" Selphie crowed, clapping her hands and bouncing. Squall rolled his eyes.

Ordinarily, Squall found her overly enthusiastic optimism just a little bit annoying. But now her customarily sunny disposition and hyperactive energy didn't bother him in the least. He attributed that to the time he'd spent with Rinoa. If nothing else, it had relaxed him and put him in a mellower frame of mind.

So instead of saying something sharply sarcastic to her or simply glaring, making his irritation known, Squall simply asked mildly, "Isn't the fall formal in October?"

Selphie stopped and stared, surprised. Then blinked and stared again at the…dare she say it? _Amusement_ in his eyes. He wasn't smiling, _quite_ , but the almost pleasant expression he wore was a marked difference from his normally stern, stony one.

Shaking herself out of her momentary shock, Selphie answered, "Yeah." Then she asked, "You going to take Rinoa? Where _is_ she anyway?"

"Sleeping." Squall answered, returning his attention to his email and frowning at what he read. Then he added, "You two might want to rest up as well, no telling how late we'll be at this meeting."

"Not a bad idea," Zell began and chuckled at the bland look that Squall gave him before returning his attention to his computer screen. "I know, that's why you're the commander, O inscrutable one." Then he pulled up a chair and sat down at the table, with Selphie joining him as well.

"There's an artist lady living in the apartment above the pub." Zell reported, then added before Squall could comment, "When I saw that I figured we might need a more secure spot to meet, so I started looking around and Selphie and I found an old barn. Just sitting alone in a field. Didn't look like it had been used for a while but it was still pretty sturdy. It's out in the open, so it'll be easy to see anyone coming."

"I was going to talk to you about that, actually, and ask if you could scout around for something like that." Squall said. "How easy is it to get there?"

"Pretty easy. Its not far from the pub." Zell answered.

"Good. Rinoa and I will meet with the Owls at the pub at midnight and see if we can't get them to follow us to the barn. I want you and Selphie outside watching the perimeter." Squall said. They both nodded.

"Any updates?" Zell asked, nodding toward the computer.

Squall grimaced, "mostly boring commander stuff pertaining to Garden. A couple of our people in Deling City _did_ manage to get some information out, but so far all I'm getting from their messages is that the situation there is still volatile. It looks like Caraway's making headway on getting control of the army though."

"You think he'll recall the Timber garrison when if he does?" Zell asked.

Squall shrugged, "I don't know. It would make our job easier, that's for sure, but we can't trust that it'll actually happen."

"Yeah. Well, I guess since there's really nothing else to do, I'm gonna try and get some sleep." Zell said, sighing, and silently wishing _he'd_ had the same opportunity to relax that Squall had. Apparently with his commander, once the ice thawed it had thawed with a vengeance, if the sounds Zell had heard coming from Squall's bedroom were any indication.

"Are you going to sleep too Squall?" Selphie asked him as she got up and prepared to head to her own bedroom.

"Eventually." He answered. She nodded and left.

* * *

Midnight. The air was damp and cool, perfumed with the fresh scent of all of the many varieties of flowers and other plants that grew in the fields around Winhill. In the dark night of the New Moon, the stars exploded across the velvety blackness in tiny, shimmering pinpricks of light.

Squall and Rinoa made their way quietly along the dusty street of the sleeping village toward the pub, Zell and Selphie already melting into the shadows to take up their positions.

After checking his email and messages, Squall had finally forced himself to go back to bed to actually sleep. Having Rinoa so near, albeit under the blankets, had made things painfully uncomfortable for Squall as he'd remembered their earlier lovemaking. He purposefully didn't undress or get beneath the blankets with her, despite his aching desire to do just that.

He knew that if he did, he wouldn't _want_ to sleep.

Instead, he'd carefully shifted himself until he found a comfortable position on his side, cuddled against Rinoa's back, arm draped over her waist. Then, with her hair in his face, her scent in his nostrils, he'd finally dropped off to sleep.

He felt much better for the rest, which was one reason why he'd made it a point to try and sleep in the first place.

There were no streetlights in Winhill, nor was there any need for them. The residents of the small community all were asleep, and crime here was virtually nonexistent. So Squall and Rinoa walked unmolested and unobserved through the sleeping town guided only by starlight. Angelo trotted ahead of them, nose to the ground, occasionally pausing to investigate a particularly fascinating scent.

They'd brought their gear with them, carried in backpacks that they wore. After traveling around the entire world while Squall and company were on their quest to defeat Ultimecia, even Rinoa had managed to learn how to pack only the essentials. If they had to leave fast, they'd have everything they needed. Including their weapons.

Squall watched the dog's reactions, knowing the animal would be able to detect anything out of the ordinary far sooner than they would. But Angelo stayed calmly at Rinoa's side when she called him to heel, panting and gazing at her alertly, awaiting her next command.

Squall calmly, quietly walked up to the door of the pub and opened it. It never ceased to amaze him that so few people here locked their doors, despite the invasions in the past of Galbadian _and_ Estharian soldiers for one reason or another. That they persisted in trusting to one's better nature was a confusing, illogical truth to Squall.

The pub was quiet and dark, the tenant upstairs asleep, if the darkened windows were any indication. Rinoa and Angelo followed him into the darkened room and the door clicked shut quietly behind them. Rinoa suddenly found it hard to breathe as the thick darkness pressed into her like a living thing.

She reached out to Squall, needing contact with him, wanting his solid strength to bolster her wavering courage, but in the profound darkness he could have been standing right beside her and she wouldn't have known it. In the black clothing he wore, he was nearly invisible. Then she stopped, and as her time with Squall had taught her, she _listened_.

She heard him breathing beside her, heard the slight shuffle of his boots against the wooden floor as he shifted his weight, and when she reached toward the sounds, felt his warmth as the room somehow suddenly grew colder. She brushed her hand against his arm and followed it down to his hand, grasping it in hers.

He squeezed her hand reassuringly and slowly, cautiously walked forward into the room toward the bar, one hand out and brushing against the tables to avoid colliding with them. The room grew colder still and Rinoa gasped as she smelled…. lilies. The hair rose on the backs of both of their necks as they both saw…. Something…. On the other side of the bar.

A wisp of mist…a drift of fog… then out of nowhere a candle bloomed and Rinoa gasped. Behind the bar, illuminated by candlelight, or perhaps by her own ghostly light, stood a woman in a white sweater, wiping it down. She looked up and Rinoa forgot her fear as she saw what everyone else who knew her had seen when they'd looked at her son. The same brown hair. The same blue eyes. The same _face_. She smiled gently at them both, then turned her attention to Squall.

He stood still, watching the apparition behind the bar watch him. He'd seen her before, and…sensed…. Her recognition of him. He didn't realize that she'd recognized him the first time that he'd come there. He wondered now, what to do. Would she speak to him? Should he speak to _her_?

 _Squall…._ His name, whispered in a ghostly sigh, echoed through time.

"Raine..." Squall whispered back. _Mother_ was in his mind, but he didn't say it. The word felt foreign on his tongue. It was always Matron. His mother was no longer part of the world.

She drifted through the bar, toward him. Rinoa shuddered and pressed close to Squall, trying not to give into the fear that began creeping back. She didn't sense any malevolence from the spirit approaching, but the mere fact that she was facing a ghost was enough to scare her. Squall too felt a prickly chill down his spine but held his ground as Raine drifted up to him and gazed into his face.

Through the shimmering light of her spirit, Squall thought he saw the glitter of tears in her eyes. Could ghosts cry? He wondered. Then she raised her hand and laid it against his cheek. Squall felt it, a cool brush of mist against his skin like butterfly wings. Like a drift of down, or walking through a spider web…barely seen, barely felt, but there nonetheless.

 _I love you son…_ She sighed, smiling at him. Then she started to fade.

 _Don't go…_ he thought while wondering why he would try to hold her spirit there. For what selfish purpose would he try to bind her to him? He didn't really know, but he wanted her to stay anyway. For a little while at least.

 _I am always with you._ She whispered to him. And then he felt it, the love she'd always had for him, the regret that she'd been taken from him even as she was giving him life. Fate had been cruel to them both, but her spirit spoke to him, telling him that his future was far brighter than he realized. Then she was gone.

The uncanny, eldritch feel of the pub that housed Raine's spirit was replaced with dark, echoing emptiness. But the candle she had lit still burned dimly upon the bar.

A shuddering breath and quiet step from behind them made both Squall and Rinoa whirl to see both Zone and Watts staring at them with wide eyes in identical white, shocked faces.

"Holy Hyne." Watts whispered.

"That… was that the…?" Zone stammered, swallowing.

Squall nodded.

"I thought…I thought it was a story. I didn't know it… _she_ … was _real_." Watts said, trying to shake off the prickling he felt at the back of his neck and down his spine. Even Squall seemed a little spooked, the unrelieved black of his clothing blending him into his dark surroundings, throwing his white face in stark contrast. And reminding Watts of the ghostly face he'd seen on the spirit facing the young commander.

He had to give Squall major points for courage in facing that down without a flinch. _He_ wouldn't have stuck around long enough for the ghost to get that close to him.

"Thanks for coming guys. Did you bring the rest of the Owls?" Rinoa whispered.

Zone nodded. "They're outside. Should I bring them in now?" A creak overhead made everyone freeze. Footsteps. Zone and Watts traded wide-eyed stares. Was the ghost coming back?

"We can't do this here. The upstairs apartment has a tenant. Let's go." Squall said softly, then turned to leave, bringing Rinoa with him. Zone and Watts both heaved sighs of relief and followed him. Rinoa looked back over her shoulder at the candle still burning on the bar and wafted a weak aero spell at it to blow it out.

* * *

They followed Rinoa and Squall out of the pub, where they made contact with Zell and Selphie. Zone and Watts called the rest of the Owls and they followed the SeeDs to the barn that Zell had found.

Once there, they split lookout duties, with Zell and Selphie watching two sides, north and south, and two of the Forest Owls watching the east and the west.

Squall and Zone both set up some electric lanterns for light and used that light to locate and drag out some old, moldy but still intact bales of straw for everyone to sit on. While they were getting everything ready Zone thought about what he'd seen earlier in the pub.

It was hard to believe, but the Winhill ghost _did_ actually exist, and Squall bore an uncanny resemblance to her. Zone wondered then if she might be a relative of Squall's. He also wondered if Rinoa had known that.

That familiar ache started again, intensified, as he'd seen Rinoa glued to the SeeD's side in the pub. If he'd had any doubts that Rinoa had managed to succeed in her pursuit of the remote and elusive young man, they were laid to rest the moment he'd seen her gripping his hand…and he _allowing_ it.

The Owls gathered and Squall sat down on a bale, raking his hand through his hair as he did, mask firmly in place. Zone noticed the mask slip a bit however when Rinoa sat down beside him, laced her fingers through his and leaned into him. It was subtle, but Zone caught the tenderness in his eyes as he looked down at Rinoa before turning his attention to Watts and Zone.

"So, what's new Princess?" Watts asked Rinoa with a grin.

"Plenty. I wanted to let you guys know I haven't forgotten about you. Neither has Squall. In fact, this was mostly his idea." Rinoa said.

"Really?" Watts asked, surprised.

"Yes. The terms of our contract with Rinoa have not been fulfilled. Other concerns superseded it temporarily but now that they've been dealt with I decided that we should go ahead and finish the job we were hired to do originally." Squall answered. Rinoa nodded.

Zone raised his eyebrows, impressed. While Squall had been confident in his abilities as a SeeD when he'd first started working with the Owls, he didn't have the level of assurance that his time as commander and his experiences in that role had given him. Looking around at the other Owls, Zone noticed that they saw what he did in the young SeeD, and he saw hope growing stronger in everyone's expressions.

Leaning forward, Rinoa asked him, "Zone, what can you tell us about Timber's current situation?"

"Well, I can tell you it's not good. After Deling was killed and Sorceress Edea was defeated and driven out of Galbadia, everything went crazy. We figured out part of it was due to that Sorceress Ultimecia and Time Compression. Watts filled us in on that, by the way." Zone said, glancing at Watts, who nodded silently.

"Anyway," Zone continued. "When the pay packets and the supplies stopped coming to the garrison, the soldiers started getting desperate. They took control of the town, basically declaring martial law. They're pretty much taking everything. Whatever crops we grow, they take. No supplies are coming in; trade is completely shut down right now. And of course the Galbadians are clamping down on _everything_. They shut down the Timber Maniacs. Killed the editor, ran off the writers. Same with the newspaper."

Squall nodded. Standard operational procedure in any takeover; silence the press first. Take away the ability to speak freely, to report on what was happening, to spread news and opinions…to coordinate resistance. Keep them silent. Keep them frightened and confused.

Zone sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face, feeling tired and far older than his eighteen years. There was more to tell, and far worse than what he'd described so far, but he didn't want to tell it where Rinoa could hear. He'd have to take Squall aside and speak with him privately about it.

"Anyway, things are getting pretty tough for everyone." Zone said, continuing his narrative. "We're all just hanging on, all of us. Most of the time, we're doing pretty well if we can manage to eat. The Owls, the Foxes, the Timber Wolves and the rest, we've all started working together to try and keep everyone fed and alive. We take turns raiding the garrison for the food stores they've taken; sometimes we manage to pilfer their armories for weapons. We don't have much but we're doing our best to make things uncomfortable enough that they'll go. But they just keep hanging in there, I don't know if it's just through pure stupid stubbornness or what. Galbadia's in such chaos right now, I don't know if they got a recall order or they're just AWOL."

"I just got back from Deling City about a week ago, and it was pretty bad then. I don't know how things are now, but it was on the verge of a civil war when I was there." Watts interjected.

"I have contacts in Deling City," Squall said. "They tell me its still unstable there but General Caraway is making progress. He's pretty close to gaining control of the army, and when he does he'll likely declare martial law to try and restore order. What happens after that is anybody's guess. He may end up being the best thing to ever happen to Galbadia, or just another dictator."

He purposefully avoided looking at Rinoa, not wanting to give her away to her friends. He knew no love was lost between her and her father, but he didn't know how deep her animosity ran. The last thing he wanted to do was to run afoul of some deeply rooted affection that she may still have for the man. He also didn't want to assume the Owls knew of her relationship with the General. Given the fact that she was using a different name, Squall had to assume that she didn't want that information advertised.

"Yeah, well either way, we can't count on Galbadia calling their dogs to heel anytime soon." Zone said bitterly.

Squall studied Zone for a long moment, his face unreadable. He sensed that there was more that Zone wasn't telling for some reason. Then he looked around at the rest of the assembled Forest Owls.

"Is there anything else I should know?" Squall asked, staring pointedly at Zone. Zone hesitated, then nodded, gesturing with his head for Squall to follow him as he got up and walked away.

Squall stood and started to go after him, with Rinoa following suit. Zone saw that and caught Squall's gaze, silently shaking his head, eyes pleading with him. Squall nodded slightly and turned to Rinoa.

"Wait here." he told her.

"Squall…" she protested. He shook his head in refusal and turned away, trying not to see her folding her arms across her chest, pouting unhappily at her exclusion.

When they were at a safe enough distance that Zone was sure Rinoa wouldn't overhear, he said in a low voice, "I didn't want to mention this in front of Rinoa… But the soldiers, they have a tendency to take whatever girls, and sometimes boys, strike their fancy. It's gotten so bad that the women in town are afraid to go out alone. And far too many husbands have been killed trying to protect their wives. Whatever code of decency these men may have followed at one time, they've forgotten it. They're more thieves and thugs now than Galbadia's finest."

Squall nodded, unsurprised. If they had degenerated in their conduct that badly, then they were on the edge of abandoning all military discipline, if they hadn't done so already.

"Thank you." Squall said, turning to leave. Zone reached out and grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. Squall glared pointedly at his hand for a full minute before Zone got the hint and let it go, swallowing.

"Please," Zone said. "Whatever you do, once you get to Timber, don't let Rinoa go anywhere alone. It isn't safe."

 _She's not the 'princess' you remember._ Squall thought, gazing coolly into Zone's eyes. Still, he took the information in the spirit with which it was intended. It always paid to heed a warning.

* * *

Author's note: Okay, I'm gonna have to admit to making a small mistake here. I mentioned in Gunblade Practice Laguna's take on informing Squall of his parentage and his reaction to it. I even went back and reread the story and MISSED that part - When I realized that, I decided to blame his apparent shock and surprise upon his junction with Eden and his own denial of the news forcing it from his mind. So, this is my attempt to sort of EXPLAIN that little inconsistency ( I hate those..). I try to keep things like that to a minimum, but sometimes I forget stuff. Blame it on the GF's.


	5. disconnect

Squall followed Zone back into the barn and faced Rinoa's pouting unhappiness with an eloquent shrug.

"What was _that_ all about?" she demanded.

"I'll explain later," Squall assured her. She glared at him and plopped back down onto the bale with an angry huff, arms folded firmly across her midsection.

"Meanie." She mumbled. Squall snorted inwardly, finding that particular epithet amusing. Even when directed at him.

He sat back down next to Rinoa and glanced over at her. She avoided his gaze and kept her arms folded and her chin up. He sighed quietly, suddenly wishing she were still holding his hand. Then he turned his attention back to Zone and the rest of the Owls, shaking off the odd discomfort he felt at Rinoa's unhappiness.

"Do you know how many men are left in the garrison?" Squall asked Zone.

Zone frowned and exchanged a glance with Watts, answering, "Maybe fifty, maybe a hundred men. We haven't managed to take an accurate headcount, but the garrison isn't a large one."

"Weapons?" Squall prompted.

"Standard G-army issue. Enough for more than a hundred men, although we've managed to steal more than a few guns, ammo clips, bullets and some other things." Zone answered.

"What about on your end? What are you working with?" Squall asked.

"Well, weapons-wise, not much beyond what we've managed to steal from the army. People-wise, the Forest Owls are the largest and most active of the resistance groups, but there's still only about twenty or so of us. The inactive or semi-retired groups are involved but only peripherally, usually as a support and information network. Those would be the Forest Foxes, the Gyrfalcons, and the few remaining Timber Wolves that are left. Pretty much everyone in Timber is a sympathizer, so even if they aren't actively fighting, they usually try to help as much as they can. We still try to keep as low a profile as possible when in town so that our contacts aren't compromised and killed." Zone answered.

Rinoa gasped, eyes widening and she looked around wildly at the faces of those Owls that had come with Zone, realizing how few they were in numbers from what she had remembered just weeks before. Noticing the absence of faces she'd once known.

Squall let out a breath, thinking about the numbers and the equipment and the situation. Poorly equipped and way outnumbered from the way it sounded. Still, it wasn't hopeless. Not completely anyway, as long as they had the support of Timber's entire population. For them to win their independence, they _all_ had to be fully invested in it. _Everyone._ Not just the Forest Owls or the Forest Foxes or Timber Wolves, but everyone in the entire city, the entire _country_ of Timber.

"We need to get everyone more actively involved with this or it won't work. It may take a full out war with these guys to get them out of Timber, and you have to be prepared for that." Squall stated.

"What do you mean, a full out war? We've been _trying_ to encourage them to leave." Zone frowned, stomach beginning to churn at the prospect of something he'd been trying hard to avoid thinking about.

"Have they left yet?" Squall asked him pointedly. Zone shook his head, unable to articulate a reply.

"I can try asking them _nicely_ , but if that doesn't work, then we'll do what we do best." Squall told him.

Zone shuddered at the flat, blank look in his eyes then, realizing what it was that Squall meant. If the soldiers wouldn't leave, then Squall and the rest of the SeeDs would kill them. Zone already knew that SeeDs never took prisoners, and neither asked nor gave any quarter. Once the battle was joined, only the last man standing was the winner.

He wondered for the umpteenth time how Rinoa would find someone so coldly ruthless attractive.

"You need to rally support. Get more numbers involved. The more people you have that are willing to fight the better your chances of winning this. You also need to have some kind of structure or an idea of what you want as far as government goes when they're gone, otherwise your situation may go from bad to worse." Squall gestured to himself and out toward where Zell and Selphie stood guard, saying, "We'll lend our support, our skills, and the materials we've brought along with us to aid in this fight. When we reach Timber, I want as many people as possible assembled. I want to get to know everyone's strengths, weaknesses, and abilities, anything that might help us, no matter how insignificant it may sound."

Standing up, he paced from one end of the barn to the other, adding, "I need exact numbers. Weapons, equipment, supplies, _everything_ ; I need to know _exactly_ what we're working with.I also need as much information as you have on the garrison itself; the layout, personnel, the base commander in particular if he's still there and still in control."

"He is," Zone answered. "If you're planning on trying to talk him into taking his merry band of bandits back to Deling City, good luck with that. He'll pay good lip service to your request, your concerns, and nothing will change except that you'll never be seen again."

"I don't need to _talk_ him into anything." Squall said coldly. "I'm simply going to deliver him a message: leave or die."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

The discussion with Zone and the Owls continued on for another hour or more, and despite the rest she'd had earlier, Rinoa was starting to get tired. Finally however, Squall had gathered as much information as he could and discussed strategies with Zone, Watts, and the rest of the Owls.

They were preparing to leave; revealing their mode of transporting themselves to Winhill had been chocobos. Zone trilled a quiet whistle and was rewarded by a soft 'wark' in answer. Squall was a few paces away, deep in conversation with Watts.

"I'd wondered how you guys would get here." Rinoa said.

"Chocobo-back is the best way to travel without being detected. You aren't confined to roads, they're fast, and quieter than any other vehicle, and when push comes to shove, they can even fight if necessary." Zone said patting the heavy, hooked beak of the chocobo that had answered his summons.

"You guys might want to try catching a couple of chocobos yourselves if you're planning on coming back with us." Zone suggested.

"I don't know what Squall's got planned right now. We may or may not head down there tonight." Rinoa responded.

When Squall rejoined them moments later, she asked him. He grimaced, thinking. While the situation wasn't good, it wasn't likely to get too much worse. It was about as bad as it was going to get, to his way of thinking. So, there was really no hurry to get there. As far as _getting_ there went, as little as he cared for riding chocobos, they _were_ much quicker and quieter than any other mode of transport available.

Finally he answered, "It'll take us some time to catch the chocobos. You'll need some time as well, to relate what we've discussed and get everyone prepared. How about we meet in three days' time?"

"Okay, sounds fair." Zone said, then turning to Rinoa, asked her, "You remember our rally point, right?"

"Yes, but what about the train?" Rinoa asked him, frowning.

"It was destroyed just after you guys hightailed it out of Timber. Fortunately, no one died in the attack." Zone answered her.

"Well, that's a relief anyway." Rinoa said. Zone nodded.

Hopping up onto the chocobo, he reached his hand down and pulled Watts up behind him. Several more of the birds appeared, answering to their riders' summons. One by one, the remaining Forest Owls mounted the birds and prepared to leave.

"Meet us at the rally point in three days." Zone directed her, and Rinoa nodded. Turning to Squall, he added, "Rinoa knows where it is."

Squall nodded, "See you then."

The Owls left, and Squall watched them, eyes narrowed and still thinking. They had all of their gear with them, so they could leave immediately if necessary. There was only a slight complication regarding transport however.

"Do you know where the nearest chocobo forest is?" Zell asked him as the Owls rode off on their birds. _That_ was the problem. He didn't know. In fact, until the Forest Owls revealed that they'd all ridden chocobos from Timber to get there, Squall would have laid serious gil down on a bet saying that there _weren't_ any chocobo forests anywhere on the Galbadian continent.

Squall shook his head, answering, "No. The only chocobo forests that I'm familiar with are in Trabia and Centra. If there are any in Galbadia, they're well hidden."

"Well, there are certainly enough chicabos running around here. There's got to be a forest somewhere nearby." Selphie stated.

"Maybe we should simply follow them? Do they go to their forests at night?" Rinoa asked.

Zell nodded, "Yeah, they're safe from predators there, so they go there at night to roost."

Squall frowned at that. It was already too late to follow them to their forest then, as the night was well advanced and heading toward morning. But, there was a clearly marked chocobo trail that went right through Winhill. Maybe they could track them.

Then he glanced down at Angelo and revised that thought. With the dog's aid, they _definitely_ could track the birds.

Turning his attention to Rinoa, Squall asked her, "How good is Angelo at tracking?"

"About as good as any dog. He's not a bloodhound or anything like that, but he does okay. Why?" Rinoa asked in turn.

"I was thinking that he'd be able to help us find a chocobo forest. If he's been trained to track, that is." Squall answered her.

"He has been, and yes, he could." Rinoa confirmed.

"Good. Let's go then and put him on the trail." Squall said, starting back toward Winhill. Zell, Selphie and Rinoa followed, with Rinoa running to catch up with his long strides and taking his hand.

She smiled to herself when he gently squeezed her hand and continued to hold it, rather than letting go almost immediately, like he'd done in the past.

They walked for a few moments in silence, then Rinoa asked him, "Squall, what was that about earlier? With Zone?" Squall glanced at her and turned his attention away, remaining silent. Rinoa tried not to give in to her frustration, the darkness made it hard to discern his expression and his silence told her nothing. But she'd learned constant badgering would only cause him to clam up further. So she waited.

Squall debated with himself about answering that particular question. He knew Rinoa would not be happy if he attempted to shelter her, and if protecting her meant restricting her movements, curbing her freedom, he knew he was setting himself up for failure. Besides, while Zone's warning was meant mostly for Rinoa, it applied equally to Selphie. As distasteful as the information Zone had given him was he still had to pass it along to both girls.

The problem was the mere thought of having to tell them that turned his stomach. Selphie had been trained for the possibility of such situations, and was a SeeD. She might be able to handle it, would understand what Squall was trying to warn them of. Rinoa was not, and Squall did not want to get too graphic. It was simply too sickening to contemplate.

Of course, leaving both girls ignorant of Zone's warning would have even worse results.

So Squall steeled himself, shoved aside a horrible memory that Zone's warning had dredged up and said, "Zone gave me some…information… that concerns you and Selphie specifically."

"What is it?" Rinoa asked, concerned at Squall's hesitant manner.

"Yeah. What'd Zone tell you?" Selphie asked.

Squall paused, took a deep breath and said, "He told me that… the Galbadian soldiers have been…victimizing women and girls in Timber. He advised me to not let you go anywhere alone."

"Why didn't he just tell us? Why tell just you?" Rinoa demanded.

Squall's hand rose helplessly as he shrugged, answering, "I don't know. Maybe he didn't feel comfortable with telling you this, and since I'm in charge, it's my job to see that my team is safe. Maybe because I didn't protect you during the battle with Edea, he's figuring I'm going to try even harder this time."

Rinoa folded her arms and glared at Squall in the darkness, "I don't need protecting, and neither does Selphie. We can take care of ourselves, can't we?"

Selphie nodded, and responded, "We can. We'll do a better job of it watching each other's backs though."

Rinoa studied her in silence, and then said flatly, "You're going along with this."

Selphie frowned, "A warning is a warning Rinoa. You don't just discount it because you don't like what you hear. If you think about it, its just common sense when you're going into a situation that might be dangerous. And like it or not, women are the easiest targets for thugs and bullies like those soldiers sound to be."

"Sounds like standard protocol to me," Zell observed. "We're supposed to watch each other's backs anyway. So we stick together, nobody goes off alone and we'll be fine."

Then Squall smiled slightly and, with his voice pitched low enough that only Rinoa could hear it, murmured, "Just stay close to me. Remember?"

Rinoa smiled and squeezed his hand and replied, "yeah. I remember."

They continued toward the chocobo crossing, and Rinoa called Angelo forward and commanded him to track. The dog cast about, reading the scents on the trail, then trotted forward, snuffling along the ground. They increased their pace to keep up with the dog since his dark coat made him hard to see in the darkness.

The dog led them on such a twisting, random path that Squall began to worry that they were simply lost, that the dog was chasing a rabbit or something instead of following the chocobos' trail. They made their way through the darkness for what seemed like hours, and even Squall began to feel fatigued as they followed Angelo.

The trees grew thicker, the air cooler, with a dampness that hinted at a mist rising in the morning. Then they were through that stretch of forest, with fortunately no monsters attacking them. A stretch of grassy plain glimmered in the starlight, with a perfectly symmetrical clump of trees sitting alone in the center of it. Angelo loped directly toward it, nose still glued to the ground.

"About damn time." Zell commented, sighing. Rinoa and Selphie nodded in agreement. They were all tired.

"We'll make camp when we get into the forest." Squall said. Zell nodded and they continued in Angelo's wake.

The night grew blacker still as they entered the forest, but the atmosphere changed completely. It was cool under the trees, and it smelled fresh, perfumed with night-blooming flowers. Little sparks of light danced in the darkness, adding their light to the wan glow from tree fungi.

Selphie stopped, entranced. "Fireflies," she whispered, eyes shining.

"Cool," Zell said, watching the dancing motes of light.

Rinoa walked into the quiet grove feeling as though she'd walked into a dream. It was beautiful, quiet and serene, and not nearly as dark as she'd thought it would be under the trees. The fireflies flickered on and off as they flitted around the grove, substituting their twinkling lights for the starlight that the trees obscured. Here and there glowing shelves of tree-fungi added their cool light to the illumination provided by the fireflies.

With their eyes adapted to the darkness, the light provided was enough for them to find a good spot to pitch their tents. Selphie and Zell set to work, but Squall paced off a bit and scanned the ground carefully before finding a spot that he liked. Then he began putting up the small single tent that he had with him. Rinoa had a similar tent, they each did. It was part of their kit.

She wished Squall's tent were larger, so that she could share it with him. The small tents that they used were just large enough for one person. It would be a very tight fit for two; at least that's what Rinoa thought. Then again, it kind of depended upon how…. intimate… one wanted to get in said tent.

Then she sighed, seeing how close Selphie and Zell were to them. As much as she wanted to spend the night in Squall's arms, sharing his warmth, Rinoa rather doubted he'd be comfortable doing that with his friends nearby. Reluctantly, she cleared a spot next to Squall's tent and pitched her own.

She remembered the night Squall had showed her how to do it and smiled. He'd been so… matter of fact. Once he'd seen that she'd mastered the easy task, he'd simply left her to it with no further comment. But it was interesting; while he'd instructed her how to perform that task he neither ridiculed her ignorance nor offered any praise or encouragement. He'd simply shown her and waited as she did it, then left when satisfied she had mastered it. He'd been surprisingly patient while doing so as well, something that Rinoa hadn't expected of him.

Once she'd finished that task and stowed her pack within the tent, she looked around for Squall. She didn't see him, so walked further into the grove until she reached the heart of it. There she found him, standing silently, his attitude alert, listening to the sounds of the forest. Her approach, though she tread as softly as she could, was far from soundless and he turned to face her when the sound caught his attention.

"What are you doing?" Rinoa asked him curiously. Instead of answering, he laid his finger against his lips, requesting silence. Rinoa frowned, wondering at his odd behavior, but did as requested and remained silent and listened as hard as he appeared to be.

His eyes glittered in the darkness as she approached and reached for his hand. He took it and pulled her gently to him, and she leaned into his embrace. She heard his heartbeat as she laid her head against his chest, his breath as he laid his cheek against her hair and breathed in its fragrance. As the silence continued she also heard the musical chirps of crickets, the buzzing of the fireflies as they danced among the trees.

"Do you hear them?" he whispered softly into her hair.

 _Hear what?_ She wondered, frowning slightly. She was about to ask when she heard a soft rustle and a quiet warble. Chocobos. They were roosting for the night, clucking and cooing softly. Squall had been listening to them in the darkness, the better to pinpoint where they were in order to catch them.

She was amazed. She could barely hear them, but Squall apparently could hear the birds easily. Obviously, his hearing was exceptionally keen.

"Are you going to try catching one?" Rinoa asked him softly.

He shook his head, "Not until morning. Let them sleep."

Rinoa smiled, "I knew you had a soft spot for them. You're so cute."

"Do not. I just suck at catching them. I've got a choco-whatzit thing that's supposed to help, but I need time to figure out how to use it." Squall admitted with a grimace.

Rinoa laughed softly, whispering, "I notice you didn't argue with me saying you're cute."

"Can't argue with the truth," Squall said, giving her a small, crooked grin.

"Careful now, you're in danger of becoming arrogant." Rinoa chided him, poking him in the side.

"Hardly. That was Seifer's thing, not mine." Squall said.

Rinoa suddenly fell silent at the mention of Seifer, wondering how he'd fared in the aftermath of the battle with Adel. He'd been badly injured but not killed during the course of that battle. Rinoa wondered why Squall hadn't delivered a killing stroke to him. She had a feeling if she asked him, Squall wouldn't be willing or even able to answer. She knew now that they had a past history together, were brothers in a sense. Perhaps that past history had somehow worked to subconsciously stay his hand. Or perhaps it was simply because Squall didn't want to waste any more effort on a foe he knew was down for the count, preferring to conserve his strength for when it was needed.

"I wonder what happened to him." Rinoa mused quietly.

"We know he survived. I doubt he's come back to Balamb though, despite rumors that say he was fishing off the pier not too long ago." Squall said. "If he _does_ come back, it'll be Balamb Garden that takes charge of him. President Loire wanted him extradited but Headmaster Cid refused in no uncertain terms. Garden takes jurisdiction in this."

"Then what? Will he be executed?" Rinoa asked, biting her lip. She didn't love him anymore, doubted now that she'd ever loved him. Her summer fling with him had been just that, a fling. Not even a serious one; not as serious as things appeared to be headed with Squall. Still, the thought that he might actually be killed for his transgressions made her guts knot up. Just like when they were in Galbadia Garden and had been told that he'd been executed then.

"He'll be tried. Court-martialed, actually. What happens then depends upon the verdict." Squall answered with an indifferent shrug. If it were up to him, he'd hand Seifer his gunblade and they'd duel to the death. He realized the possibility existed that he might lose if that became a reality, but Squall didn't go down easily. And the thought of cutting Seifer to ribbons with Lionheart was a very satisfying one.

"Oh." Rinoa said in a small voice. She wondered if Garden was actively hunting Seifer, and if Squall had dispatched SeeDs with a capture or kill order. Somehow, she thought not. Seeing how personal things had gotten between the two toward the end, Rinoa thought that Squall would want to deal with Seifer himself. As busy as Squall was at the moment, it made sense that he'd simply let the whole Seifer issue lie.

She burrowed closer to Squall, pushing all thoughts of Seifer from her mind then, determined to enjoy being wrapped in his arms. Squall obligingly tightened his arms around her, pressing her into his solid warmth. The night sounds that had momentarily been chased away by their quiet voices resumed, and Rinoa was reassured that they hadn't frightened the chocobos away by speaking.

Squall rested his head against hers again, and whispered, "You should go to sleep."

"I'm not tired," Rinoa said, then yawned unexpectedly, much to her frustration.

She felt him smile as he whispered, "liar."

"I wish…" Rinoa began, and Squall said, "I know. Me too. But, we can't. Zell and Selphie are close by and…." He swallowed, voice trailing off. Rinoa nodded, understanding what he meant.

She didn't want retire to her tent though. Not yet. She wanted to linger in his arms just a little longer. She turned her head slightly, seeing his face right next to hers. Only a slight shift was needed for her to brush her lips lightly along his stubble-roughened cheek.

That prompted him to meet her gaze and bring one of his hands up to caress her cheek, sliding it back to tangle his fingers through the hair at the base of her skull, making her to close her eyes on a sigh. Then his lips touched hers gently, his hand pulling her forward to him as he kissed her lightly, gradually increasing the pressure of his lips. She opened her mouth slightly and Squall took advantage of that invitation, pressing her body against his as his tongue invaded her mouth.

From light and sweet, the kisses turned passionate, with Squall's hands roaming Rinoa's body and his lips straying from hers to trail down her neck. Rinoa in turn slipped her hands beneath Squall's shirt to caress his back and solid chest, prompting him to groan softly. He returned his lips to hers and stole her breath in a searing kiss, crushing her against him.

Tearing his lips from hers he breathed, "You need to go to your tent Rinoa."

"I don't want to." She whispered back.

"I feel the same. I want you so badly right now I can barely think. Do you realize how dangerous that is for us?" Squall said, breathing the words into her ear as he rubbed his cheek against hers, brushing his lips against her ear lobe and making her shiver.

Rinoa's breath clogged in her throat as the implications of that statement slowly sank in. They were outside, in a chocobo forest, which despite the fact that it was sheltered, monsters could still attack. Squall's attention was completely on Rinoa; he wasn't paying attention to their surroundings at all. If they were attacked…. She swallowed, suddenly realizing that she was a major distraction for him.

If he was _this_ distracted in Timber, it could be deadly for _everyone_.

"I understand." Rinoa said, trying hard not to feel disappointed and a little hurt. It wasn't his fault, but hers. Or perhaps the fault lay with the both of them, with their lack of control over what they felt for each other.

Squall frowned slightly, somehow sensing the shift in her mood, and said, "Rinoa, I…" his voice suddenly faltered, the words dying on his tongue. He was learning the words for his feelings still, learning to name them, but hadn't yet learned to speak them. But they sat there in his heart, in his mind, trembling on the tip of his tongue. They had yet to fall out upon Rinoa's ears however.

But she knew. She saw them in his eyes, every time he looked at her. She felt them in his hands; every time he touched her, and in his kisses, every time he made love to her. He hadn't learned to speak the words yet, so Rinoa decided then that she would teach him.

She reached up and caressed his cheek, moving her fingers back to comb through his hair as she whispered, " If we need to cool things off a little bit while we're there in Timber, then that's what we'll do. Just don't forget one thing."

"What?" Squall asked.

"I love you." Rinoa breathed, kissing his cheek gently.

Squall swallowed, feeling suddenly very weak. Powerless. Caught by the oldest form of sorcery that existed. He knew she loved him, he felt it from her whenever he was with her in the way she smiled at him and touched him. But hearing her actually _say_ it, hearing her declare it to him, to show him her heart… it meant more to him than he could possibly express.

An ancient tradition stated that to name a thing gave a person power over it. Perhaps that philosophy had a grain of truth and out of that truth came the Guardians. Name the winds, and they would come to your hand like falcons; thus leading to Pandemona's creation. Name fire, and you have Ifrit. Name ice, and you have Shiva. And so on.

But naming something as tenuous and ephemeral as love was quite a different thing. It could not be tamed to one's hand like a falcon, to be controlled or owned like a possession. If it was locked away, it withered and died, and the human heart went with it. If denied, one's soul grew twisted and ugly from its lack. An orphaned infant, lacking only love but cared for in every other way, would die.

It was rare, and precious, and fragile, and yet at the same time, it was the most powerful force in the world.

It had motivated Squall to walk the defunct rail line from FH to Esthar with Rinoa comatose on his back and only the vague hope that she would receive help there. Mile after mile he'd walked as the sun beat down upon them, fatigue dogged his steps and both his heart and his body ached. It had led him to leap from an escape pod into outer space with no other plan than to catch Rinoa and if necessary, die with her. It had provided him with the strength and courage he'd needed to face and defeat Ultimecia, saving the entire world from her madness.

To speak the words made them real. Made them take root and grow, enlarging his heart's capacity to love and _be_ loved. To name what he felt made it _his_ , made it something that no one could take from him. Made it a precious gift that he could give to the one person who had taken the trouble to show him what it meant.

Squall pulled Rinoa close to him, crushing her in a tight embrace, burying his face in her hair. His heart thudded heavily in his chest, and he stroked her hair gently, the power of what he felt momentarily freezing his tongue and rendering him mute.

He took a deep breath, inhaling the warm fragrance of her hair and felt something break free within him. He squeezed his eyes shut and kissed her cheek. Finally he let the words go on a quiet breath of air, sighing on a thread of sound directly into her soul.

"I love you too."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Rinoa walked back to her tent in a daze. Squall had remained behind in the forest with the chocobos, waiting he said, for his… _excitement_ to cool.

He had said the words. She'd had to lead the way, show him the shape and the sound of them, but she had no doubt that his response had been genuinely _his_. She wanted to laugh; she wanted to dance and burst open with joy. Instead she hugged herself and blinked her stinging eyes. She knew he loved her, whether he'd actually _said_ so or not. That wasn't why him saying it was so important.

He was learning. Expression was difficult for him, and Rinoa suspected it always would be. But him actually following her lead and letting those words escape…. it meant that whatever it was that left him mute, that blocked his ability to speak about what lay deep inside of him was eroding away.

As she approached her tent she saw Zell and Selphie sharing some cold rations. They'd decided against lighting a fire in the grove, fearing that it would scare off the chocobos.

"Where's Squall?" Selphie asked.

"He'll be along. He's just pinpointing where the chocobos are roosting for the night. We'll catch them in the morning." Rinoa said.

"You hungry?" Zell asked her.

She shook her head, "I'm going to turn in. I'm done for the night, I think."

"We're right behind you." Selphie said as Rinoa opened the flap to her tent.

She took off her shoes and socks, leaving them near the entrance of the tent and spread out her sleeping bag. A quiet whistle brought Angelo in, and she zipped the flap closed. Finally, she removed her duster, rolling it up the way she'd seen Squall do with his jacket to use as a pillow, and crawled into her sleeping bag.

Angelo cuddled up against her and sighed. Rinoa smiled and scratched behind his ears, glad for the company and the extra warmth. It would have been warmer with Squall… _much_ warmer… but in his absence, the dog helped. Then she hugged him tightly to her, prompting him to lick at her face.

On the one hand, she was sad that they had to curtail their intimacy while on this mission. On the other, she understood why, even if she didn't like it. It hadn't even been his idea really, though Rinoa figured it wouldn't have been long before he'd brought it up.

Then again, perhaps not. She smiled to herself as she remembered how _focused_ he could be when he was with her. And his disappointment at that necessity had been patently obvious. No, he wasn't indifferent to her, not any longer. He never had been, he'd finally admitted to her.

He never would be. That comforted Rinoa's anxieties over what this mission would do to their relationship. It had already grown well beyond what Rinoa could have ever hoped for, and even if they had to restrain themselves from any physical intimacy for the time being, they were still together. What they had together would continue to grow.

Fatigue finally caused Rinoa's mind to still, her eyes closing as she drifted off to sleep.

Squall padded silently into the quiet camp some time later and paused, gazing at Rinoa's tent wishing that he could join her. He glanced around the camp, finding all quiet and serene, but just in case he set Diablos to ward off any possible attacks. They would need their rest. If he managed to capture a couple of chocobos it would make their journey to Timber much quicker and easier, but if not, then they'd have to walk.

It was a long walk to Timber from Winhill.

He passed by Zell and Selphie's tents, snorting quietly to himself as he heard Zell's snores. It was one of the reasons that he'd pitched his tent so far away. Sleeping where he could hear Zell snoring gave him a headache. Oh, it wouldn't keep him up, he was pretty good at ignoring anything in order to sleep, but it wouldn't be a _restful_ sleep. And the end result would be a headache and a subsequently sour temper. Something _no one_ would want to see.

Finally reaching his tent, he again looked over at Rinoa's tent, smiling slightly as he noticed how close she'd pitched it next to his. He sighed at the prospect of spending the remainder of the night in his tent alone, wished he could wrap himself up in her warmth and her scent. Doing more than sleep however with Zell and Selphie so close was not something Squall would be willing to do. _That_ was something that he very much preferred to do in private.

Then his smile grew softer, more wistful as he remembered Rinoa's whispered, "I love you". Such a simple thing, to tell someone special how you felt about them but it was not something that Squall had ever done before. The words were there, they'd always been there, but he just hadn't been able to speak them. Tonight however, Rinoa had shown him how they'd sound when spoken, and how they'd feel when heard.

She'd made those words real, made what they felt for each other real. She gave that gift to him, showing him the way to return it back to her. They had welled up inside of him, shoving aside the barrier that kept him silent and finally giving him enough impetus to release them. And so he did, verbalizing what was in his heart, naming it and making it _his_. No matter what happened from this point on, it would _always_ be his. It could never be taken away from him.

And Rinoa, his love, his angel, had shown him the pathway toward a deeper truth than he'd ever known before, and it was this: No one could take from him what lay in his heart unless he let them.

He laid his hand upon his chest, over his heart, and felt it thudding heavily against his ribcage. He wondered at how curiously full it felt, and why such a vital organ should be considered the vessel of such metaphysical sensations. Another illogical truth that Squall couldn't fathom.

He rolled those words over and over in his mind, remembered how they'd felt in his mouth as they escaped from his lips, and opened his mouth to speak them a second time.

"I love you, Rinoa." He whispered to the sleeping form inside her tent, and then turned toward his own tent, opening the flap and going inside.


	6. How to Train Your Chocobo

Squall was up at first light, and was treated to a truly beautiful sight. Mist had risen from the ground as dawn had approached, softening the air, drenching the leaves of the trees, ferns and flowers in dew and giving the entire grove the look of something out of a fairy tale.

Rinoa just _had_ to see this.

Crawling out of his tent, he went over to Rinoa's, unzipped the doorway and stuck his head in.

"Rinoa?" Squall asked, smiling as he saw her sound asleep, Angelo snuggled alongside with his head resting on her stomach. She sighed and shifted, but otherwise remained as she was.

Moving further into the tent, Squall poked around at her sleeping bag until he located one of her feet and grasped it through the bag, shaking it.

"Rin? Rinoa, wake up!" Squall urged her.

At length she yawned and opened her eyes, asking groggily, "What?"

Squall grinned at her again and answered, "I've got to show you something. Come on."

She smiled at him, wondering at his odd mood, and yawned again, stretching before finally crawling out of the sleeping bag and following Squall out of her tent. The moment she did, Squall grasped her hand and tugged her along the now clearly seen chocobo trail.

As she did, she looked around at the forest and gasped.

"Oh, Squall its _beautiful_!" She exclaimed.

He grinned back at her, eyes twinkling, and said, "Wait. It gets better."

They followed the trail deeper into the forest until they came to the center of the grove where they'd seen the fireflies and heard the roosting chocobos earlier that morning.

The beauty that they'd seen by the light of the fireflies was eclipsed by what the rising sun now showed them.

"Oh…Wow." She whispered, awed by that beauty.

Clouds of cottony mist still rose from the damp ground, dew sparkling on every leaf surface like tiny diamonds. Golden sunlight speared through the trees in brilliant beams, intensifying the curling tendrils of smoky vapor that drifted up and evaporated as the sun's warmth began to burn it off. Birds twittered in a riot of melodic sound, bees buzzed busily and butterflies flitted around, flashing their endless array of colors in and out of the patterns of light and shadow.

Wildflowers of every type and hue blanketed the ground, mixed in among the deep green grass that carpeted the floor of the grove. Ferns swayed and bobbed as a breeze picked up and swirled through the clearing. They both stood still and silent, and soon hummingbirds began flitting about, collecting nectar from the flowering shrubs that were dotted around the forest.

Rinoa turned then to look at Squall and saw something…amazing. He was gazing around, watching as the morning progressed with an entranced look of wonder on his face. She'd never seen such an unguarded, innocent expression on his face before, and suspected that nobody else had either.

She had a sudden vision of him as a small boy, sitting in the middle of the flower field near the orphanage in Centra on a morning such as this, watching the butterflies. The fading echo of that innocence was still contained in his face, but Rinoa knew that it would only last as long as the sunrise did.

She sighed when the mist and magic of the morning was finally burned away and the man he was in the process of becoming replaced the boy that Squall once had been.

The change was immediate. One moment, his face showed childlike wonder, the next it was back to the business of being commander.

Rinoa saw a small flash of it return when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her softly, smiling down at her and saying, "good morning. Ready to catch a chocobo?"

"Yes." Rinoa answered, loving the way the sun struck his hair, bringing out sparks of copper among the brown strands.

"Okay." He said, then fell silent, his face falling back into the mask he habitually wore as he listened for a moment, the better to home in on where the birds were. He moved a few steps further into the heart of the grove and pulled what looked like a small silver whistle out of his hip pocket.

Blowing it produced a thin breath of sound that Rinoa could barely discern, though she saw Squall wince slightly. Angelo, sitting next to her, pricked up his ears and whined quietly. When nothing happened, he tried again.

A small "cheep" near his feet directed his attention to a fuzzy yellow chocobo chick. It tilted its head and studied him for a moment, then cheeped again.

"Aren't they supposed to be bigger than that?" Rinoa asked him, trying hard not to smile. The little chicabo, now pecking at the ground near Squall's feet, was cute as the dickens.

Squall frowned in confusion at this, and tried the whistle again. A second chicabo joined the first, pecking and cheeping at his feet. A couple more tries simply produced more chicks…of the avian variety.

Rinoa, watching this, was now trying unsuccessfully to avoid laughing at the sight of Squall standing knee-deep in fuzzy yellow birdlings. They all seemed to be gathering around him, pecking at his feet, his legs, and one even tugged at his belt, prompting him to back up out of its reach.

"I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong here, but all I seem to be attracting is baby birds. You want to give this a try?" Squall asked, holding the whistle out to her.

Rinoa blew the whistle and got the same result; yet another chicabo. She smiled and bent down, petting its downy head.

"I don't know Squall. The same thing seems to be happening to me." Rinoa said, smiling down at the little bird, adding, "They're cute little things, aren't they?"

"Cute?" Squall groused. "More like annoying." He glowered down at the group of fuzzy little birds that kept insisting upon pecking at his feet.

He'd just turned toward Rinoa to ask her to try again when a sudden pain on his left butt cheek made him jump with a startled "Ow! Dammit!"

Rinoa burst out laughing and asked him, "What happened?"

"Damn thing bit me on the ass!" he growled, rubbing at the sore spot. Rinoa couldn't help laughing at the sight, though Squall didn't seem to see the humor in it.

"I'm sorry Squall," Rinoa said contritely. "I shouldn't laugh at you. But the look on your face was just priceless."

His response was a wordless growl and a fierce glare at the offending chicabo, wondering privately if they tasted as much like chicken as they looked.

"Well, it's pretty obvious that the damn whistle isn't working," Squall grumbled. _Now_ what were they supposed to do? The sum total of Squall's skill in catching chocobos involved the _theory_ of blowing that thrice-damned whistle and grabbing the bird when it inexplicably answered its summons.

"We could just try calling one," Rinoa suggested, then started calling out, "Heeere chik chik chikeee…"

"They're chocobos, not chickens." Squall said flatly. Then he stepped back to lean against a tree as one of the chicks looked to be eyeing his backside again. He paused to consider the situation, and gestured Rinoa to silence.

She stopped after she saw his expression, what she called his "thinking face". He couldn't really do it properly, not leaning against the tree like he was. Certainly, he couldn't lean his forehead into his hand from that position, as was his wont. But she knew he was considering their situation and quieted down to give him time to think.

Then he did something that surprised Rinoa completely. He pursed his lips and whistled a perfect imitation of a chocobo's call. Note perfect. They both waited in tense silence, and Rinoa sighed in disappointment, realizing only then that she was half hoping that his ploy would work.

An answering warble startled them both, and Squall whistled one more time. A rustling from the brush nearby signaled the approach of something fairly large, and Rinoa exchanged a glance with Squall, who gripped his gunblade hilt in case he needed to draw it.

Then a loud "Wark!" barked out, and a large adult chocobo stepped into the clearing, sending the chicks into a frenzy of cheeps as they gathered around its feet.

"Well. Now we have a chocobo. Now what?" Rinoa asked.

"I have no idea. But we need at least one more. I hope these little chicabos aren't going to be a problem." Squall said, frowning.

"Maybe I can help?" a voice said from the other side of the clearing. Squall and Rinoa both turned their attention to Zell, who started crossing the grove.

 _Started_ to. The flock of chocobo chicks mobbed him after he got only a few steps into the clearing. Rinoa stifled a giggle and Squall rolled his eyes while secretly sighing in relief that he wasn't going to have the little pests pecking at _him_ any longer.

"Whoa! The heck?" Zell said, stopping as the chocobos converged upon him, cheeping and fluttering. If that wasn't enough, the adult chocobo, which had been standing quietly next to Squall and Rinoa, paced over to Zell as well, cocking its head to one side and warbling softly.

Then even Squall was hard-pressed not to collapse into laughter at what the bird did next. It ruffled its feathers, standing up proudly and obviously putting itself on display. By that, Squall and Rinoa deduced that they'd attracted a male bird. Then it bowed, crooned, and performed what had to be a mating dance, focusing its attention wholly upon poor Zell, who was by turns both frightened and confused.

"I think its in love with you Zell," Rinoa managed, her voice trembling from the strain of holding back her laughter.

"Ahh…" Zell started, wondering what to do about that fact.

"Maybe I should try calling another one?" Squall asked, wondering if that would help. Maybe if nothing else, it would distract the chocobo that seemed bent upon making Zell its mate.

Selphie entered the clearing at that point, clad in her typical sunny yellow jumper, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"What's going on guys?" She asked.

"Squall called a bunch of baby chocobos, then whistled up that big one that is trying to court Zell. He's going to try for another one." Rinoa explained.

Some of the chicabos, catching sight of Selphie, ran up to her, cheeping and fluttering.

"OOH! How _cute_!" Selphie gushed, bending down to pet the little birds.

Squall sighed, shaking his head, and tried whistling again. Another chocobo answered, but this one seemed a little more subdued than the other one. It was larger, but didn't have quite as impressive a crest or tail feathers. It was rather hard to tell with chocobos, but the differences between the two birds led Squall to believe that this second bird was a female.

It crooned, blinking at Squall and tilting its head to one side. _Uh-oh_ …

"Um, Zell?" Squall asked, shrinking back as the chocobo's impressive beak descended toward his head.

"Yeah?" Zell replied, trying to avoid the male bird's advances.

"Could you come over here? See if that birdbrain follows you?" Squall asked, shuddering and ducking, an uncomfortable prickling feeling tracing down his spine as the beak missed his head by mere centimeters. The chocobo didn't seem to display any sort of aggression at all; it was just fascinated by his hair. He still didn't want the damn bird pecking at his _head_ however.

Zell did as ordered, the lovestruck avian following him closely.

When the male bird caught sight of the female, it stopped and struck a proud pose, displaying its plumage and crowing impressively. The female cocked her head, warbling inquiringly, and stepped closer to the male bird. The male raised its crest fully and performed a stately and dignified dance, while the female watched and appeared to consider the male's display.

"Well, at least he's not trying to court _me_ anymore," Zell said as he watched the two birds. The female warbled softly and snatched at the male's crest feathers. He stopped and allowed her to preen them.

"I'm guessing that all these little chicabos don't belong to these two then." Squall observed.

"That's good, I'd feel bad about taking mommy and daddy away from these little guys." Selphie said, still playing with the chicabos. Squall rolled his eyes and Rinoa smiled at him.

"Just our luck it happens to be mating season for chocobos. Any ides on how we can get them to cooperate with us and let us ride them?" Squall asked.

Selphie brightened, "Yeah! I remember Irvy telling me about it. He's real good with chocobos."

"Then enlighten us, Selphie. Please, before the honeymoon starts for these two." Squall said, watching the two chocobos tenderly preening each other.

"Should we throw rice?" Rinoa smiled. Selphie giggled and Zell grinned at her. Squall sighed and folded his arms, waiting.

"Okay," Selphie said, and proceeded to instruct them all on how to get the chocobos to do what they wanted…mainly by hopping onto the male chocobo and digging her heels into it.

The bird gave a startled squawk and ran off a few steps, then stopped, fluttering its wings and cocking its head to look back at Selphie.

"Chocobos are actually pretty smart, and not that hard to work with. Dig in your heels to make 'em go, and grab the back of the neck to make 'em stop." She said, showing them where she grasped the bird at the base of the neck.

"How do you make sure they don't run off when we camp?" Zell asked.

"Just whistle for them. They tend to imprint on one person once you've caught them, especially if you're nice to them." Selphie said.

"I see." Squall said thoughtfully, studying the female bird. It cocked its head and blinked, warbling softly. Squall responded with a soft trill, and it immediately came up to him, eyeing his hair again. He studied the heavy, hooked beak warily.

"I think she likes you," Rinoa said, smiling.

Squall turned his attention to Rinoa, asking, "You think so? I can't imagine why…" he frowned, thinking about that. He hadn't been mean to it, but he hadn't done anything particularly nice either. He' d simply called it.

Suddenly, Rinoa gasped and said, "Squall, don't move!" He froze, and then felt something tugging his hair. It _had_ to be the chocobo.

"What is it doing?" He asked, trying to ignore the strange, tickling sensation that went from the base of his neck down his spine.

"I think she's preening you." Rinoa answered, eyes dancing.

"How do I make it stop?" He asked. The bird wasn't being rough or aggressive at all, and what it was doing didn't hurt; in fact it was surprisingly gentle. But it did bother Squall, mainly due to the fact that the chocobo's huge, heavy beak was uncomfortably close to his neck.

"I don't know. Just push it away?" Rinoa suggested. Squall reached his hand up and carefully pushed at the bird's beak, hoping that it wouldn't bite him. It didn't, and the preening stopped.

Squall stepped away, and then came around to the chocobo's side, deciding to give Selphie's information a try. He leaped onto the chocobo's back in a fluid motion, gripping the base of its neck and settling himself on its back.

Once he was ready, he dug in his heels to signal the bird to move. It walked forward a few steps, stopping at Squall's signal. Then he frowned, wondering how to steer the thing.

"How do you make it turn?" he asked Selphie.

"Just push on the side of the neck in the direction you want to go." Selphie answered. Squall did so, turning the bird back the direction they'd come.

"Okay. I guess that's that." Squall said, dismounting. "We need to start packing up and getting ready to leave."

"We actually need to eat something first, or we won't get very far." Rinoa said.

"Yeah, she's right. Let's go see what we can get fixed up." Selphie said, dismounting from her chocobo and patting it affectionately.

Squall left Selphie and Rinoa to figure out breakfast and headed toward his tent, packing all his gear and taking down the tent. Zell did the same thing. Selphie and Rinoa did as well, after they'd managed to get a sketchy breakfast together for all of them.

Rinoa had noticed that Squall tended not to eat much when traveling, and wondered why. The time they'd spent tramping around Galbadia and Esthar had worn him down to just about nothing. It was a wonder that he'd had half of the strength that he did during the fight with Adel and Ultimecia, though he _had_ managed to refuel a bit when they'd stayed at the Presidential Palace in Esthar.

So when he told her that he wasn't terribly hungry and only picked at the food that she and Selphie had prepared, Rinoa smiled sweetly at him and then firmly ordered him to eat all of his breakfast.

"We aren't going anywhere until you've eaten all of that." Rinoa declared. Selphie and Zell nodded in agreement.

Not seeing any choice and not much interested in fighting about it, Squall shrugged and ate his breakfast. Once that was finished, they collected their chocobos and mounted up. Squall decided to have Zell and Selphie ride the male, while he and Rinoa would ride the female.

Squall mounted his bird and reached his hand down to help Rinoa up, asking her, "Front or back?"

"What do you mean?" Rinoa asked, puzzled.

"Do you want to ride in front of me or behind me? If you ride in front you'll do the steering." Squall explained. Rinoa considered that for a moment, and then decided on front. Riding on the back of a chocobo with Squall's arms wrapped around her was just too romantic to pass up.

"I'll take front." She answered, reaching her hand up and grasping his. He pulled her up easily, impressing her anew with the strength his slender, wiry frame hid. They settled themselves, their packs tied together and slung over the chocobo's neck, and Squall checked with Zell and Selphie to see if they were ready to go.

"Yeah, but I have a question," Selphie began.

"What?" Squall asked, impatient to be off.

"Don't you think we ought to name them?" Selphie asked him.

Squall shrugged, "If you want to. I don't care either way."

"What do you think we should name them Selphie?" Rinoa asked.

"Well, I was thinking of calling them after the famous lovers, Lyonne and Tariffa." Selphie said.

Rinoa smiled, liking the obvious analogy between the two. Lord Lyonne and Lady Tariffa had ruled a millennium and more ago in a fiefdom of the old Centran empire. Some historians speculated that Lady Tariffa had been a sorceress, and Lord Lyonne her knight as well as her husband, but no hard evidence had been unearthed to confirm this. Their passion for each other had been well documented however, such that a legend had grown from it.

Their story, like all great romances, was ultimately tragic. It was through betrayal that Lord Lyonne was murdered, while his lady wife inexplicably died in that same moment…. of a broken heart, some said. The betrayal had not originated from his wife, all historians agreed on this score. He had been loyal and faithful to her to the end, fighting to the death to defend her.

"That's cute, Selphie. I like it." Rinoa smiled over at her. She snuggled back slightly, thus increasing the contact between her body and Squall's, and sighed happily as his arms came around her.

"Is everything set?" Squall asked, scanning the area where they'd camped to see if anything had been left behind, then checking both his and Zell's chocobos to make sure everything was secured and ready to go. Zell and Selphie nodded in confirmation, and Squall was just about to give the order to move out when Rinoa gasped.

"What?" he asked her, frowning slightly.

"Angelo! He can't keep up with a chocobo in full stride! We'll lose him!" Rinoa exclaimed. Then she called the dog over. He hesitated a moment, then ran around them in a wide loop and then when he'd gathered enough momentum, gave a prodigious leap right into Rinoa's arms. Squall tightened his arms around her to hold her steady as the dog's weight threatened to overbalance her.

He waited while Angelo got settled on Rinoa's lap, then ordered, "All right. Let's go." He dug his heels into the chocobo's sides, signaling for it to move, and it started off, with Zell and Selphie's chocobo following along behind them.

They stayed at a walk as the birds threaded their way through the trees in the grove, and once they'd come through the forest and were in the open meadow, Squall had them pause for a moment while he consulted his compass. Once sure of their direction, they took off at a run, headed toward Timber.  
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

One thing that made chocobos such desirable modes of transportation was their nearly inexhaustible endurance. The birds could literally run all day, stopping only when their riders request it. Doing that covered an astonishing amount of ground, and by late afternoon, they were almost halfway to Timber.

They'd mostly ridden in silence, both Squall and Rinoa concentrating on staying aboard their mount and keeping it going in the direction they needed it to.

As the afternoon progressed, Squall began scanning their surroundings for a likely looking camping spot. It was unreasonable to expect to make it to Timber in a single day. Even if the chocobos could do that, and Squall had little doubt that they probably could, their human riders were a little more fragile and needed to eat and sleep at more frequent intervals. Besides that, they weren't expected to be anywhere near Timber for another two days.

The terrain between Winhill and Timber varied from flat grassland to rolling hills with scattered trees, which would grow in numbers as they got closer to their goal. For the moment however, they were in mostly open ground. It made it difficult to find a sheltered spot to camp with, if at all possible, water nearby.

Eventually however, they did find a spot that met their requirements as the sun started setting, and halted for the night.

Squall jumped off the chocobo first and reached up…originally to grab their bags, but Rinoa redirected his attention to her by asking pointedly, "Are you going to help me down?"

"Do you need me to?" he asked her. Rinoa suppressed a sigh. He'd made progress, sure, but was still a long way from being what she considered civilized. Not that his manners were at all uncouth, it was simply the fact that the whole "gentlemanly" part of it was noticeably missing.

He wasn't rude or rough, and sometimes he could be considerate if he didn't over think it. He _did_ tend to be a little thoughtless but still, nothing terrible. At the moment, he treated her like he would treat Selphie or Zell, and with the same consideration. A fact that faintly disappointed Rinoa. She suspected that it had to do with their current mission and the need for them to cool their ardor a little bit. Still, his arms had been firmly around her during their ride, something that Rinoa found reassuring.

"I would like you to. It'll make the landing a little easier, it's rather a long way down." Rinoa explained.

"Oh." Squall said, then reached for her instead of the bags. Rinoa threw her leg over the chcobo's neck and Squall caught her at the waist as she slid down, setting her gently onto her feet. Rinoa leaned into him then and slipped her hands around his waist, smiling as he responded with a hug of his own. She had decided that the best way to get Squall used to casual contact was to simply touch him as much as possible. So far, it seemed to be working.

He smiled slightly down at her and gave her a quick, soft kiss, then said, "go set up your tent. Zell and I will take care of dinner tonight."

"All right," She replied, moving out of his way so he could get their packs off of the chocobo. He handed her pack to her and took his own, setting it down so he could go talk to Zell.

Okay, so he needed a little work on the manners thing, but it wasn't a deal breaker for Rinoa. In fact, she rather liked that he treated her just like any other member of his team, with the exception of course being their physical intimacy. No special treatment from him meant that he had confidence in her. That he trusted her.

Smiling to herself, she picked up his pack as well, and took both of them with her as she began looking for a good spot to pitch their tents.  
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Squall approached Zell as he was unloading his pack from the chocobo he and Selphie had ridden. She had already gone to get her tent set up.

"Zell, once you get your tent set up, get a fire pit for the campfire ready. I'm going to fill our water bottles and see if I can't find some deadfall here for the fire." Squall told him.

Zell nodded and handed him his canteen, saying, "I think Selphie still had hers on her pack."

Squall nodded and went to get Selphie's canteen. He'd already taken Rinoa's off her backpack along with his own when he'd handed it to her. As he headed off toward the nearby creek, he checked his junction with Diablos, making sure it was still deterring any wandering monsters.

The creek wandered through a draw, and as Squall walked down the gentle slope toward it the trees got thicker, and the grass greener, the closer he got. He followed the creek upstream, noticing the thickening woods and hoping to find enough deadfall to avoid having to actually chop down a tree. It was bloody hard work with just a little hand-axe, not to mention wasteful for just an overnight camp.

The creek widened out into a pool with a small waterfall at one end, and Squall narrowed his eyes, tracking upward for a spot that looked safe enough to take water from. He continued upstream and knelt down next to the creek, putting a purifying tablet into each of the canteens as he filled them. He shook them and draped the straps over his shoulders, then wandered back into the trees, scouting for deadfall.

There was more than enough, and it was while Squall was gathering the wood that he noticed the trees seemed to have some sort of order to their arrangement, as though they'd been deliberately planted in rows. He paused and studied the trees more closely, realizing then that he was in an orchard of some sort. Overgrown, obviously abandoned for some time, going by the nearly wild state of the trees and the surrounding area.

He wondered what kind of orchard it was, and if there were anything available there that would supplement their travel rations. He looked more closely on the ground and saw what looked like tree nut husks. He considered that for a moment. Nuts would be helpful but rather a nuisance to try to get free of the shells. He wasn't sure of the type either, but they appeared to be walnuts.

He wandered further into the orchard, hoping to find some fruit trees mixed in with the nut trees. He did, finding what appeared to be both peach and apple trees, and while it was early still in the summer for the apples to be ripe, the peaches were perfect. Unfortunately, he couldn't pick any, not with his arms full of wood and burdened with the water bottles. He'd have to come back for them.

He made a mental note of the orchard's location and hurried back to the campsite. He wanted to get back to the orchard before it got too dark to see.

Squall strolled into camp with a satisfyingly large bundle of wood, and deposited it next to the pile that had grown next to the firepit. Zell had already gotten a fire started, and surprisingly enough, the chocobos had settled down together a short distance away in the tall grass, crooning and preening each other.

"You cooking or do you want me to?" Zell asked him as Squall handed back his canteen.

"Hold off on that. Find a bag and follow me. I found an abandoned orchard a ways back by the creek." Squall said.

"Yeah? What kind?" Zell asked, interested.

"Nuts, walnut I think, peaches and apples. The apples still look a little green, I didn't see any ripe ones, but the peaches looked ready. I don't know if there was anything else in there." Squall said. Selphie and Rinoa had come up at that point and heard him talking about the orchard.

"Great! I'll see if we've got any extra bags or something that can be converted into one," Rinoa said, and Selphie echoed that. Squall handed Selphie her canteen back and followed Rinoa to her tent, groaning inwardly as he remembered that he'd yet to pitch his own.

Then he paused in surprise, as he saw not one tent pitched in the area that Rinoa was headed toward, but two.

"Did you set up my tent for me?" Squall asked her.

"Yeah. I'd finished with mine and I knew you were busy so I went ahead and put yours up as well. Hope you don't mind." Rinoa answered.

"Not at all. Thank you." He smiled briefly, then handed her one of the canteens, putting his into his tent. He brought out his pack, going through the contents and trying to find something that would serve as a sack.

"I was thinking," Rinoa began as she did the same with her own pack. "If we used the bags that we put our bedrolls in, maybe we could fill them up?" The bags in question were sturdy, oiled canvas bags that protected the bedding and kept it dry in all weather.

Squall frowned at that, "That would work, and I was thinking of doing that myself. We'd have to hope that we don't run into rain, otherwise our bedding will get soaked. If we fill up all of those bags we'll have more than enough for us to eat…" Then he paused, seeing suddenly where Rinoa's thoughts had been.

"You want to bring the extra to Timber." He stated. Rinoa nodded.

"We couldn't possibly gather enough for the whole town Rinoa. And those bags won't hold that much." Squall said.

"I know. But it'll help at least." Rinoa said.

"Okay. We'll get as much as we can. Do you want to gather the nuts or the fruit?" Squall asked her.

Rinoa shrugged, "Doesn't matter."

"All right, let's go." He said, getting the bags and bringing Zell and Selphie along, with their bags as well.

They decided on the nut trees first, with Zell and Selphie, the most agile of their group, volunteering to climb the trees and knock the ripe nuts down by shaking the branches. Squall and Rinoa gathered the fallen nuts and filled one of the bags with them.

Squall then led them deeper into the orchard and to the fruit trees. Obtaining the fruit was rather a different process. They couldn't simply knock the peaches down because they would bruise. Likewise with the apples, those few that appeared to be ripe enough to pick. So instead, either Selphie or Zell would climb the tree, Squall or Rinoa would hand up an empty bag and they'd fill it with as much ripe fruit as they could get off of a given tree before they moved on to the next.

They managed to fill one bag with peaches, and nearly filled the other with apples. They found other varieties of trees, but none that had ripe fruit ready aside from a few hardy citrus trees. Squall gazed longingly at the cherry trees, wishing that the fruit were ripe. But it was too early yet for them, and what few that had ripened early had likely been taken by birds and other creatures. He sighed regretfully. There was nothing he liked better than cherries, and they were best straight off the tree.

They filled the final bag with oranges, and carried their burdens back to camp, laying the bags down next to the fire. The resulting dinner that night was made much more interesting with the addition of the fresh fruit, and Squall sighed as he bit into a fresh ripe peach, the juice dribbling down his chin. Washed clean in spring water, still warmed by the sun, it was the best damned thing he'd eaten in days.

He thought about the pool and the waterfall upstream, wondering if he could sneak away for a swim later on before it got too dark. Suddenly conscious of being grimy with dust and sticky with sweat and fruit juice, he wanted nothing more than a cool dip, though he knew it probably wasn't a good idea, tactically.

Just this once though, he wanted to say "to hell with it" and go skinny-dipping.

When dinner was done, he seized the opportunity presented by volunteering to wash the dishes and fill the coffeepot for morning.

Picking the items up, he said, "I'll take care of this." Then he walked out of camp in the direction of the creek.

Intellectually, he knew that the water was likely cold as hell, which was confirmed when he finally got there and rinsed the dishes out. He had chosen a spot above the waterfall to do that task, and when completed set the dishes aside and filled the coffeepot.

Setting it down, he walked downstream to the top of the waterfall, peering down at the pool below and trying to gauge its depth. The last of the sun had died however and the only thing left of the light was burning embers fading to purple in the clouds above. The light was too uncertain for Squall to be certain of the depth of the water, and it would be foolish indeed to attempt a dive into what could turn out to be a shallow spot in the creek.

Picking up a large rock, he dropped it off the waterfall, listening to the splash. It sounded fairly deep, though not deep enough for a dive to be safe. The area directly beneath the waterfall should its deepest point. Still, it would be foolish and reckless to dive into the pool, even if it was a shallow dive.

He did it anyway.

The cold water hit him with a shock that drove his breath from his lungs, and he surfaced, gasping and flinging the water from his hair with a flick. The pool had fortunately been just deep enough for a shallow dive, though he had scraped bottom before he'd come up. He cast a glance back to the tree where he'd stashed his clothes and gunblade. He didn't fancy having any creepy crawlies in his skivvies, and figured they'd be safe enough where he'd put them.

Taking a deep breath, he dove under the surface, striking out strongly for the opposite shore. The cool water caressed his skin, washing away the dirt, sweat and grime of the day, both refreshing and exhilarating him. He sported and splashed about for a time, diving and surfacing, racing from one edge of the pool to the other like an otter. Enjoying his solitary swim immensely.

He paused next to the waterfall to catch his breath and saw a sliver of moon appear in the sky. He studied it in fascination, smiling slightly at the sudden sparks of the fireflies that had started cavorting about near the trees that overhung the pool. He'd fooled around long enough, and knew he should be getting out and heading back to camp, but he lingered a bit longer, despite the cold.  
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Zell bit into another peach and slurped at the flood of juice that spilled over his lips. He'd probably eat the whole damn bag if he could, but knew he'd pay for it if he did. Still, the peaches were great; he couldn't remember tasting anything so good in he didn't know how long. He hoped they came this way again. He'd seen Squall eyeing the cherry trees longingly and couldn't suppress a grin. He loved fresh cherries too.

"Hey Zell," Rinoa smiled at him, sitting down nearby and holding her hands out at the fire. It wasn't cool out; it was still rather warm in fact. But for some reason everyone warmed his or her hands at a campfire even in the summer.

"Hey," he responded after hastily swallowing the bite of fruit he'd been eating.

"Those peaches were sooo good." Rinoa sighed, "I couldn't eat another bite. I hope we can grab some more before we leave to bring to Timber with us."

"Shouldn't be hard to convince Squall to grab a few more. Good thing he found these though. Our travel rations were starting to get really boring." Zell said.

"Where is he anyway?" Rinoa asked, looking around and realizing he was nowhere to be seen.

"He took the dishes up to the creek to rinse 'em out and fill the coffeepot." Zell said.

"He's been gone an awful long time for that, don't you think?" Rinoa asked him, worried.

Zell froze and stared at her, saying quietly, "Shit. I'll be right back Rinoa." He jumped to his feet and pulled on his gauntlets.

"Wait! Zell, I want to come with you! What if he's hurt?" Rinoa said, getting to her feet as well.

"Stay here. I've got cure spells and if we're wrong and he wanders back into camp at least you'll be here to greet him." Zell said, then he turned to Selphie, "You and Rinoa can watch the camp while I go find our fearless leader."

"All right," Selphie shrugged. Zell nodded and grinned slightly, then jogged off.

Then she turned to Rinoa and asked her, "Hey, you wanna make s'mores?"

Zell jogged through the darkened forest toward the creek, growing more worried by the moment. It wasn't like Squall to wander off like that. Something had to have happened to him. Whatever it was, he hoped he wasn't too late to help him out. Unfriendly and cold he may be most of the time, but Zell had seen a marked difference in him since he'd gotten together with Rinoa.

She had definitely thawed him, and it showed in numerous, subtle ways. For one thing, he wasn't nearly as rude as he used to be, and showed a great deal more tolerance for Zell than he had in the past. It made Zell begin to hope that they might actually become friends again, like when they were kids.

He hoped for Rinoa's sake that nothing had happened to him.

Finally reaching the creek, he followed it upstream and came upon the pool, hearing something splashing in the distance. He saw something pale flash in the weak moonlight that illuminated the water, then disappear.

Zell swallowed as whatever it was splashed again, wondering if there were water monsters as large as this thing sounded native to this area. He continued upstream, starting to worry.

He found the rinsed dishes and filled coffeepot, but no sign of Squall.

"Shit." He whispered, wishing there was more moonlight. He couldn't claim to be an outstanding tracker, but if he could actually see, he'd be able to follow tracks to see if he could determine where Squall had gone.

He turned to make his way back down toward the pool, blundering into something hanging from a tree branch. Zell gasped, fearing the worst, grabbing whatever it was and sighing in relief when he discovered that it was Squall's gunblade. Then he frowned in confusion, wondering why Squall's gunblade would be hanging in a tree…. along with all of his clothing, he discovered.

Then he turned slowly toward the pool, whispering with a grin, "no way…" a brief, wicked thought grew in his mind and he was sorely tempted to steal the clothing that Squall had left behind and force Squall to walk buck naked back to camp, then he decided against it.

He walked toward the edge of the water and peered into the dimness, and sure enough a pale shape surfaced and resolved itself into Squall, snorting water and shaking his head.

"Aren't you cold?" Zell asked him. Despite the fact that he was sure he'd caught Squall unaware, Squall displayed little surprise at seeing him.

"Yeah. I was just getting ready to get out," he said, casually making his way toward the shore and the tree where his clothes were hanging.

"Couldn't resist, could you?" Zell asked with a grin.

Squall shook his head, "Nope."

"You're lucky the girls didn't follow me." Zell said.

Squall shrugged, "Why? They don't want to see my naked ass they don't have to look."

Zell's jaw dropped and he sputtered, "but…but I thought…"

"Thought what?" Squall frowned at him and got out of the pool, shaking his hair off again and reaching for his clothes.

"Ahhh….uh…" Zell managed, and then gave up.

Squall gave him an odd look and shook his head, muttering, "whatever. Look, its not like I invited everybody to swim with me, so if they have a problem with me skinny dipping by myself they don't have to look. It's not like I have anything to hide." He wrinkled his nose before pulling his shirt on, adding, "Wish I'd thought to bring a spare set of clothes with me so I could wash these. Oh well, deal with it when we get to Timber tomorrow."

Just putting on dry clothes went a long way toward banishing the chill that had begun seeping into Squall's bones. The swim had been refreshing, but after awhile Squall had started to feel the chill and likely would have gotten out anyway if Zell hadn't found him.

"Wish I'd found this creek earlier. I'd have loved to go swimming." Zell said, sighing.

"You can try it in the morning I suppose, though it'll probably be even colder than now." Squall said, finished with dressing and putting his boots and socks back on. That task done, he headed back toward camp.

Zell shook his head and followed. That was definitely a first. He wondered about that, and what it meant, finally concluding that Squall was a far more complex and unpredictable individual than he gave the appearance of being.


	7. Promises to Keep

Squall walked casually into camp, carrying the plates and the filled coffeepot. It was when he set the coffeepot down next to the fire that Rinoa noticed that he was wet. His hair was at least.

Laughing slightly, she asked, "What happened, did you fall in?"

He smirked and answered, "No, I jumped."

Rinoa stared at him for a moment, then asked, "Why?"

"Felt like it." He answered.

"So, you decided on a nighttime swim just for the hell of it." Rinoa said slowly.

"Yeah, pretty much." He confirmed, holding his hands out to the flames and sighing as they warmed him.

"Since I didn't see a swimsuit anywhere in your kit, I'm assuming that you went skinny dipping. And you didn't invite me. Shame on you." Rinoa said in mock severity, startling Squall until he looked up and saw her lips twitching.

"Sorry. I will next time," he said, giving her a warm look. Rinoa laughed softly and leaned into him, kissing his cheek…and gasping at how cold it was.

"Hyne! How cold was the water? You're freezing!" Rinoa exclaimed.

"Pretty cold. It felt nice for a while but started getting really cold after the sun went down completely." Squall said. Seeing her worried expression he added, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Rinoa pressed herself close to him anyway, trying to leach away the cold with her body heat. Squall gave her a quick smile and put his arm around her, appreciating the warmth she was trying to provide.

"Aww, you guys look so cute 'n cozy," Selphie gushed, sitting down across the fire from them. Rinoa worried at first that Squall would withdraw his arm with her arrival, but he didn't budge, despite the sudden pink cast to his cheeks. She gave him a reassuring squeeze and he relaxed slightly.

"Selphie made s'mores while you were gone. You want one?" Rinoa asked Squall.

He frowned, looking from Rinoa to Selphie and asked, "S'mores?"

Rinoa frowned back. He looked as though he didn't know what she was talking about, and the thought that he might not even know what _s'mores_ were made her wonder about what else he might have missed out on.

"Yeah, you know, s'mores? Chocolate, marshmallows, graham crackers? C'mon, you gotta know what s'mores are!" Selphie answered.

"I know what they are, I'm just confused about how and why you made them. This isn't summer camp Selphie, we happen to be on a job." Squall said flatly.

"I know that, _commander_. But, properly speaking, the job hasn't _started_ yet. As for the _how_ , I got the supplies in Winhill the other day. So. Do you want one?" Selphie asked pointedly.

Squall blinked, unable to find fault with her logic, cockeyed though it might be.

Finally he answered, "all right." Rinoa smiled brilliantly at him then, and he suddenly found himself wishing they were alone so he could kiss her silly.

"I'll make it for you." Rinoa offered happily, and then turned to Selphie. "Hand me one of your marshmallows, will you?"

Squall watched in fascination as Rinoa skewered the marshmallow on a stick and toasted it, then stuck it between two graham crackers on top of the chocolate and mashed it together. She handed the resulting gooey mess over to him.

"Eat it while its still warm. They're best that way." She instructed.

Squall did as directed, silently agreeing with her. The contrast between the crisp graham crackers, the warm, toasted marshmallow and the melting chocolate offered an interesting counterpoint to the ripe fresh peaches he'd eaten earlier. It left him undecided as to which he liked better, coming to the conclusion that it was a tie. Unless somehow one could add fresh cherries? He considered that, deciding that he'd have to find a way to combine the two at some point.

"You made s'mores Selphie? Awesome! Can I have one?" Zell popped up from wherever he'd been and immediately appropriated a marshmallow and the other required ingredients to produce the treat on his own.

"So, what do you think? Good huh?" Rinoa asked him.

"Good." he agreed, licking at his fingers. Rinoa smiled again, suddenly visualizing him as a cat that had just gotten a bowlful of cream. He certainly had that same air of satisfaction to him.

Catching her look, Squall asked, "What?"

"I was just thinking that you looked like a cat that had gotten into the cream." Rinoa said with a grin.

Squall stopped licking his fingers and stared at her, confused, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, I don't know, you just sort of remind me of a contented cat, sitting there licking its paws." She answered. Squall frowned slightly and folded his arms, studying her for a moment.

Shaking his head, he mumbled, "Whatever."

Rinoa laughed softly and leaned into him, kissing his cheek and ruffling her fingers through the damp hair at the back of his neck to scratch lightly behind his ear. He sighed softly and leaned into the caress, prompting Rinoa to bite back a smile at his involuntary response.

They stayed that way for a moment in silence, leaning into each other and staring into the flames until Rinoa began to blink sleepily. Zell and Selphie had both retired to their respective tents to turn in, leaving Squall and Rinoa alone with the dying embers of the campfire.

"You should go to sleep." He told her softly.

"You're still chilled." She said, tightening her arms around him.

"I'm fine." He replied, kissing her softly on the forehead.

Rinoa reached up then and stroked the back of her fingers over his cheek, feeling the slight prickle of stubble over smooth skin. The texture fascinated her, and she caressed his cheek again, watching his eyes darken as she did. Watching his cool gaze warm gradually until his eyelids came down and hooded it, those ridiculously long, thick lashes of his fanning out atop his cheekbones.

He truly had the most beautiful eyes.

She leaned forward and touched her lips to his, closing her eyes as well to better concentrate on kissing him. Focusing her attention on the warm, silken feel of his lips against hers, the sweetness of chocolate that flavored his kiss.

He made a soft sound in his throat and pulled her closer to him, deepening the kiss and burying his hand in her hair. Her senses swam in the sweet assault his lips and tongue made upon hers, and she was left breathless and slightly disappointed when Squall broke off the kiss. He rested his forehead against hers, gazing earnestly into her eyes for a moment while stroking her hair back from her face.

Giving her a soft smile, he whispered, "Go to sleep Rinoa. I'll see you in the morning."

"All right," She whispered back, smiling in return. "Good night Squall." But she didn't move until he gave her a gentle nudge, encouraging her to sit up from the position she'd ended up in, lying across his lap with her head resting in the crook of one of his arms. When she did he stood, claiming both hands and helping her to her feet.

Then he steered her toward their tents, escorting her with his arm around her and giving her another kiss before seeing her off to her rest. When her tent zipped shut, he returned to the campfire, banking the coals for the night before retiring to his own tent.

Once there he removed his still slightly damp clothing, layering it beneath his bedroll for his body heat to dry. Then he dug into his backpack for a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to wear to bed, using a small penlight he'd brought along for illumination. He sighed, feeling much better for having warm, dry clothes to wear. Burrowing himself deep into his bedroll, he sighed again and was asleep in moments, fatigue from his exertions that day finally catching up to him.  
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A bloodcurdling shriek startled Squall out of a sound sleep and he was up and out of his tent, gunblade in hand before his mind had fully awakened. He turned toward Rinoa's tent, heart pounding, and ready to do battle with whatever had caused her to scream like that …and saw nothing.

Then he was nearly knocked flat as Rinoa burst from the tent and ran right into him, squealing "Oh my god ohmygod OHMYGOD!" Squall immediately shifted his gunblade to the side, though he was taken so off guard that Rinoa nearly impaled herself upon it before he did.

"Rin? What…" He began, and had to gasp as Rinoa wrapped her arms around his waist in a death grip, shivering in fear.

"Oh Squall! It's horrible! Oh, please, kill it! Kill it! Kill it!" She cried, face buried in his chest.

"Kill what?" Zell asked, eyes alert and fists ready, scanning the campsite. Selphie had her nunchuckus ready for action as well.

"Did a monster sneak into camp?" She asked.

"I don't think so. Whatever it is doesn't seem very motivated to eat us." Squall said reasonably when nothing sprang out of Rinoa's tent with mayhem in mind.

He began to suspect what the problem might actually be, but just to be sure, he asked her, "Rin? Can you calm down for a moment please and tell me what's going on?"

"I...I had to go to the bathroom…so I took my flashlight and … you know. When I got back I was just settling back into my bed when I felt something…. crawling on me." Rinoa shuddered and added shakily, "on my… my hair. I brushed it off and…it _hissed_ at me! I grabbed my flashlight to see what it was and it was this…horrible…ugly… _thing_!"

Squall frowned, "What kind of thing was it?"

"I don't know!" Rinoa cried, "It was hairy and black and had a tail and legs and claws and it hissed at me! It _hissed_!" She buried her face back into his chest and whimpered, "Please kill it? Please?"

"Okay. Can I have your flashlight?" Squall asked her. Biting her lip apprehensively, she handed it over. Squall gave her a brief, reassuring hug, then gently extricated himself from her and went over to his tent.

"Squall, it's in _my_ tent…" Rinoa said, wrapping her arms around herself and trying to control her shudders.

"I know. In case you haven't noticed, I'm barefoot." He started to duck inside and snorted to himself when he heard Zell comment, " _and_ in your underwear. Dude, don't you wear pajamas?"

"No." He answered shortly, emerging with his boots, carefully shaking them out first (not wanting a nasty surprise of his own) and stepping into them.

Passing Rinoa on the way to her tent he paused to give her hand a quick squeeze and ducked into her tent, crouching down onto his knees to crawl inside.

He shone the flashlight around the tent, looking for whatever critter had given Rinoa such a case of the heebie-jeebies. She'd faced any number of nasty, dangerous monsters with barely a flinch, but some little bug was enough to send her screaming. He snorted inwardly at that. He moved her pack and belongings aside carefully, but didn't see the thing.

Then a shadow moved in a dim corner of the tent and Squall trained the flashlight on it. The creature hissed and raised its claws in a defensive posture, and Squall couldn't hold back a shudder of his own as he saw the thing. It was the biggest, _ugliest_ damn scorpion spider he'd ever seen, and his blood turned to ice as he saw the huge stinger ready on the end of its tail. It was easily the size of his hand…without the eight legs and the claws in front. The black hair that covered it was banded in poisonous green, and was a warning of the venom that its stinger carried.

If it was any other thing, Squall would have considered the gunblade to be overkill, but not in this case. It was however rather difficult to angle the weapon in such tight quarters as the tent.

Squall kept the razor-sharp tip of the gunblade aimed at the creature, poised and ready to strike. It scuttled toward him and he slammed the tip down upon it, impaling it. It died in a hissing shriek and Squall grimaced in disgust as he backed his way out of the tent, the creature still writhing on the end of his gunblade.

"Did you kill it?" Rinoa asked him, and he held the tip of his gunblade up, showing the hideous thing on the end of it. Rinoa screamed and shrank back, shuddering.

"Eww! What _is_ that?" Selphie asked.

Squall paused and shone the flashlight on it so they could all get a better look at it and Zell jumped back, eyes wide, exclaiming, "HOLY crap! A scorpion spider? Those things are _nasty_!"

Squall nodded in silent agreement and crossed their camp to the still faintly glowing embers of their campfire, pitching the creature into it. It flared up, catching fire on the still hot coals. Then he returned to where Rinoa huddled with Selphie, arms wrapped around her and still shivering.

"Rinoa?" Squall asked her, and she launched herself at him, but he gently held her back and instead shone the flashlight onto her face, his expression once again unreadable as he took her chin and tilted her face two and fro.

"Did it sting you?" He asked her quietly as he continued his examination, lifting her hair and checking the back of her neck.

"No," she answered, puzzled and a little scared by his behavior.

He let out a relieved breath and pulled her into his arms, holding her tight. Then he closed his eyes and simply held her as she sobbed wetly into his shirt. He rested his cheek against her hair and stroked it gently, feeling very thankful that Rinoa hadn't been hurt.

"So, um…I'm gonna head back to bed now. Good night Squall." Zell said, clearing his throat and giving Squall a sketchy wave as he turned to head back to his tent.

"Way to be a hero, big guy." Selphie smirked, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

"Go to bed Selphie." He told her.

She giggled and winked at him, "Good night. Cute shorts by the way, stud." Squall's narrow-eyed glare only encouraged more giggles as she made her way back to her tent.

Rinoa's sobs had calmed in the meantime to snuffles and quiet hiccups. Squall's shirt was damp again, this time with her tears, but he found he didn't mind. Any opportunity to hold Rinoa close was not to be wasted; so a few tears weren't going to put him off. The sounds of the night resumed now that things had quieted down, crickets and other creatures offering a midnight serenade.

Squall kissed the top of Rinoa's head and whispered, "You should go back to your tent. It's safe now."

Rinoa tightened her arms around him; burrowing closer, she whispered, "Please, no. I can't. Not tonight. Please let me stay with you."

Squall stroked his hand lightly up and down her back, considering. Of course he wanted her with him, the trouble was, he probably wouldn't sleep. He'd want to do more than just _sleep_ , and unfortunately they couldn't do anything else at the moment. Holding her for the remainder of the night in the close confines of his tent would be sweet torture, but he'd endure it for her sake.

"All right." He said. "Come on." He turned, keeping his arm still around her, Rinoa still glued to his side.

When Rinoa hesitated at the entrance of his tent, Squall smiled slightly and gave her a soft kiss, then took her flashlight and drew the flap back, illuminating the interior. When Rinoa (and truth be told, Squall as well) was satisfied that there were no other nasties lying in wait for them, she crawled inside and made herself comfortable in Squall's bedroll. She shifted as far over to the side as she could when Squall crawled in after her.

He took his boots off and upended them by the entrance of the tent and zipped the flap.

"Are you sure you're okay with this? I mean, it is awfully tight here..." Rinoa said, biting her lip in uncertainty.

Squall trained the flashlight up toward the top of the tent for better light, and told her, "We've been much closer than this." Then he made his way to his bedroll and joined Rinoa there.

"I know but…"She stopped for a moment as they both shifted until they'd reached a more or less comfortable arrangement.

Squall set the flashlight next to his gunblade and shut it off, making sure that the cutting edge of the gunblade faced away from them. Turning to face Rinoa in the sudden darkness, he used his sensitive fingers to trace the contours of her face and sift through her hair.

"I'm okay with this. This will take some getting used to, but I'll be okay." He traced his fingers to her lips, and replaced them with his own lips. The odd detachment he'd felt while dealing with the scorpion spider and checking to make sure that Rinoa hadn't been stung melted away and he deepened his kiss, pressing her close. Unless he told her, she'd never know how close she came to dying tonight. Scorpion spider venom was deadly, and even a strong esuna spell wasn't completely effective against the poison.

Meanwhile, she was responding to his kiss and running her hand under his shirt and caressing his chest and belly in a very arousing manner. He pressed her close; close enough that Rinoa couldn't help but feel how she affected him. He broke off the kiss and took a deep breath, resting his forehead against hers briefly, aching for more.

"This can't go any further." He whispered, heart pounding and blood surging. He swallowed and simply held her, waiting, _hoping_ that would calm his excitement.

"But…" Rinoa protested, and Squall shushed her.

"Go to sleep." He whispered, kissing her gently. She sighed and settled herself against him.

He held her the remainder of the night, head pillowed on his chest. His heart eventually returned to its normal rhythm, and Rinoa's gentle breaths told him that she was sound asleep. His arousal calmed, but his desire did not. He still wanted her, still ached to have her wrapped around him, ached to hear her moaning his name while they made love. But he didn't have anything with him, protection-wise, and hadn't thought to purchase more in Winhill. He was mentally kicking himself for that oversight now.

He sighed, staring into the darkness as she slept, hand lightly caressing her hair. It felt nice, having her there, her warmth driving away the night's chill. The tight quarters did make things a little uncomfortable for him, and he knew he'd be stiff and sore in the morning due to being in such a confined position. But it was worth it.

Eventually he did manage to relax into a light doze, but never fell fully asleep. He considered getting up more than once, but didn't want to want to leave Rinoa or risk waking her. He was too comfortable to leave her, but not comfortable enough to actually sleep.

Squall's thoughts wandered on strange paths while in that semi-sleeping state.

 _Do not fear the bond…_

What bond? What had Edea been talking about? Squall had meant to ask her but had not managed to do so before they'd left on this mission. That, and her whispered comment about how he'd make Rinoa a wonderful knight made him wonder. Edea had said before that a sorceress needed a knight to remain stable. Perhaps because with that much power and the hatred and fear that it fostered, the sorceress needed at least _one_ person that she could trust, _one_ person that she could rely upon to defend her. To stand between her and whatever might threaten her safety or sanity.

Squall knew that Rinoa hadn't wanted to become a sorceress, not after seeing firsthand what could result from such power gone unchecked. She had nearly submitted to Esthar's sentence of sealing her powers for the good of the world, nearly allowed them to entomb her in the same icy prison that they had forced Sorceress Adel into. She hadn't wanted to live with the burden of possibly becoming everyone's enemy…. _his_ enemy… and had decided a living death was a better option.

Squall wouldn't, _couldn't_ let her do it. Having finally admitted to himself that he loved her, he couldn't possibly allow her to be taken from him, not after having fought so hard to save her in the first place. He realized then that in freeing her from the Sorceress Memorial, Squall had taken his first step into becoming Sorceress Rinoa's knight. Later, outside the ruins of the orphanage, near their flower field, Squall silently vowed that he _would_ be her knight, not even truly aware of what that meant beyond standing at her side no matter what. Protecting her. Supporting her. Loving her. Perhaps that was all it really boiled down to.

It occurred to him then that it might be a good idea to _tell_ her that.

He looked down at her sleeping face and smiled slightly, kissing her head. Despite his discomfort, his difficulties sometimes in adjusting to having someone in his life, nothing felt more right than this. When she woke, he would talk to her. He would offer himself to her as her knight, and hopefully, she would accept. He didn't see any reason why she wouldn't, but then he didn't want to assume that she would.

Regardless of what she said however, Squall had already made that decision. He'd promised himself that he would be her knight whether she wanted him or not. And Squall was the sort of person that would never make a promise unless he intended to keep it.  
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dawn had lightened the tent to gray when Squall decided to get up. He moved as carefully as he could, but the close quarters he'd shared with Rinoa made it impossible for him to move without waking her.

Her arm tightened around him and she murmured sleepily, "What're you doin'?"

"Getting up." Squall answered her, continuing to extricate himself from the bedding and her.

Rinoa yawned, and protested, "Just a little longer, please?"

Squall smiled slightly at her, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face before bending down and giving her a soft, lingering kiss.

"I'm sorry Rin, but I need to get up." Squall whispered. Rinoa sighed and let him go, and he turned away to dig into his pack for clean clothes.

"I wish you'd stay here with me a little longer. Why are you getting up now?" She said, pouting slightly.

"Well, if you must know," Squall answered, pausing to pull on a shirt. "I need to go water a tree. Why, do you want to watch?" He smirked at her, grabbed a pair of pants and started to pull them on.

Rinoa laughed softly, hand over her mouth. "I'll pass, thanks."

Squall lay back and fastened his pants, looking over at Rinoa with a gentle smile. She smiled back and reached over to caress his cheek. He shifted to face her and kissed her.

"Did you sleep well?" She whispered. Squall hesitated. He'd hardly slept at all, as a matter of fact.

Finally, he answered, "Not really, no."

Rinoa frowned, "Why?"

"Not used to sleeping with anybody. It's hard to get comfortable." He admitted.

Rinoa's face fell. She'd slept wonderfully, wrapped up in his arms and sharing his warmth. It hurt to hear that it hadn't been the same for him.

"Hey." Squall tilted her chin up and she met his eyes. "That doesn't mean that I didn't like it. I'll get used to it. It's just hard to get comfortable when you can't move around much. Parts of me fall asleep; other parts get stiff and sore. We'll figure it out, don't worry."

"It felt nice, being held by you all night." Rinoa said, still feeling a little hurt.

Squall smiled over at her again. The stiffness was slight, and fading as he moved around, and a slight shift was all it had taken to bring the feeling back into the arm that had fallen asleep, though the pins and needles sensation was something he could have done without. Perhaps the first time actually _sleeping_ with someone would have been better attempted in a bed large enough for two, rather than a small tent on the hard ground. Hardly a comfortable place to sleep under any circumstances.

But it _had_ felt nice, holding her. Sharing the warmth of her body, hearing her breathe, watching her sleep. He could definitely get used to that.

"I agree." Squall finally said, giving Rinoa another soft, slow, lingering kiss. Then he drew back and stroked her cheek lightly before sitting up again to dig a pair of socks out of his pack and put his boots on.

"You can go back to sleep for a little bit if you want. I'm going to get the fire going and make some coffee." Squall said, reaching for his gunblade, sliding it into its scabbard and grabbing the ammo belt that went with it. He gave Rinoa another quick smile before crawling out of the tent and finally stretching to work out the lingering kinks.

He buckled on his gunblade and went over to the fire pit first, getting a piece of wood and stirring up the coals, scattering the charred remains of the scorpion spider. Getting some dry tinder, he got the fire going again then walked into the trees to take care of the other reason he'd gotten up.

When he returned, the fire was going nicely and he got the coffeepot rigged up, then started on breakfast.

Selphie emerged from her tent first, yawning and rubbing her eyes, followed by Zell.

"So…" Selphie began, grinning at Squall impishly.

"So what?" He asked, concentrating on the food he was cooking.

"How'd you sleep? Or _did_ you sleep?" she asked with a wicked gleam in her eyes. Squall studied her for a moment in silence, deciding then that she was in fact a very good match for Irvine. Their minds certainly seemed to run along the same track a lot of the time.

Turning back to the fire, Squall replied coolly, "none of your business. Breakfast is ready if you're hungry. As soon as you've eaten we'll strike camp and head out."

Selphie frowned and folded her arms, frustrated. She couldn't simply _ask_ Squall if he and Rinoa had done anything besides sleep, and he certainly wasn't going to volunteer it. He looked tired, so she guessed that he hadn't slept, or if he _had_ , he hadn't slept much. Why it even mattered to her she didn't know beyond her desire to see the first _real_ relationship that she'd ever seen Squall involved with succeed.

Whether he remembered her or not, she remembered _him_. And she still saw glimpses from time to time of the boy who, though largely withdrawn from the group even then, had still played the role of her elder brother. It was partly those memories, added to what she learned after reacquainting herself with him, that made it matter to her.

Deep down, beneath that hard outer shell, Selphie knew he cared. About them all certainly, but Rinoa especially. He wouldn't have been able to lead them in their campaign to defeat Ultimecia otherwise. And it was simply fascinating to watch the slow blossoming of his relationship with Rinoa firsthand.

"Give it up Selphie. He's right anyway, it's none of your business." Zell advised her, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"But…"Then she sighed, "Yeah, I guess you're right." She got her mess kit out and helped herself to some food. It wasn't much, just reconstituted powdered eggs and more of the fresh fruit they'd picked, this time oranges, but it was certainly better than nothing.

Rinoa emerged from Squall's tent at length, and Selphie couldn't help smiling at her as she yawned and rubbed at her eyes. _She_ at least looked well rested and rosy-cheeked. Her smile broadened as Squall handed Rinoa a cup of coffee and a plate of food with a small half-smile on his face. She decided then that she'd have to take Rinoa aside for some serious girl-talk. Soon.

Breakfast was quickly accomplished and they all busied themselves with packing up and getting ready to leave. In no time at all, everything was packed up, the campfire drowned and the ashes scattered. All that was left was calling the chocobos and mounting up to leave.

After checking the bags of fruit that they had, Squall decided it was sufficient as it was, so a second trip to the orchard would not be necessary.

"At the rate we're traveling, we should reach Timber by this evening." Squall said as he pulled Rinoa up to settle onto the chocobo in front of him. She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her and rubbed his cheek against hers. The roughness of his stubble was more pronounced, but Rinoa actually rather liked the slight abrasion.

"Yes. I think we might want to take a break midday and rest, then continue on to Timber. I think it might be safer for us if we got there when it's fully dark." Rinoa said.

"Good idea." Squall agreed with her. Then he raised his voice and said, "Let's go."


	8. Mercenary Knight

Dawn broke over the beleaguered town of Timber, spreading its pure, clean light over the attractive flagstone plaza, the quaint shops, the shuttered and abandoned Timber Maniacs building and the silent townsfolk who walked briskly toward whatever business they had while endeavoring ignore the presence of the blue-clad soldiers that occupied the town. Despite it being a beautiful summer morning, with flowers in bloom and birds singing merrily in the trees that lined the square, the entire mood of the town was that of a winter-killed deadening of spirit brought on by Galbadia's oppressive occupation.

People strove to avoid the notice of the soldiers that dotted the town and mingled among them, strove to avoid interacting with them. Few of the town's residents looked directly at them, instead hunching their shoulders and keeping their attention directed toward whatever destination they had in mind. Not that there was much commerce going on, with trade cut off and as little gil as everyone had. However, it never paid to attract the notice of the soldiers.

Still, what goods and services that were offered were plied, the merchants trying desperately to at least preserve the illusion of normalcy. Even if the only customers that were able to take advantage of such services tended to be the hated soldiers.

The underground resistance movement in Timber flourished under such oppression, despite the efforts of the occupying forces. It had gone on so long, resistance had become a way of life in Timber. Part of the town's identity, its culture. After nearly two decades, it could be argued that the original goal of the resistance movement had been lost in the mists of time and instead the younger generation took up the flag of rebellion for its own sake, and not for the sake of liberating the country.

Certainly, despite the length of time the various resistance groups in Timber had existed, they were all of them largely ineffective, as evidenced by the fact that after seventeen years, Galbadia still occupied Timber.

Perhaps it was because each group had its own agenda, its own philosophy and its own way of doing things. Some were more serious than others; some had better skills, better planning, and better equipment than others. Some were deadly serious, while others were merely going through the motions simply because in Timber, that was what one did.

But it was that lack of cohesion, both the saving grace and the downfall of those various splintered resistance groups, which made them so ineffective. Yes, no one person knew them all, or knew who the members were, thus protecting them from reprisals from the occupying soldiers. It ensured that the tradition of resistance to oppression would never die.

But it also ensured that coordinated action was all but impossible, therefore the best any of the groups could do was to simply mount nuisance attacks on the garrison. No one group could take them all on, their resources were no match for the well funded, trained and equipped soldiers.

That was why Squall had requested that Watts and Zone get _everyone_ together.

Zone knew why, and knew that Squall was headed in the right direction when he'd firmly pronounced that everyone had to work together to achieve their goal. He wasn't a fool. But getting the entire population of the town together without attracting the notice of the Galbadians and bringing them down upon them all was easier said than done.

They were sure to notice the sudden absence of everyone in town and be curious as to where they'd gone. A clandestine meeting someplace in the middle of the night was likewise problematical. Too many people sneaking out to go someplace at night, in defiance of the curfew, increased the odds that someone would get caught, and all of their efforts would be for naught.

It was a dilemma that Zone had stewed over for the last two days, to the point that his gut was on fire with pain most of the time since returning from Winhill.

He ducked his head, hunching to hide his height and making sure his long forelock obscured his face as much as possible as he passed by a watchful soldier. He and Watts had been careful to hide their identities to prevent being recognized as members of the Forest Owls whenever they'd done anything as part of the resistance. So far, none of the soldiers knew who they were, despite their abortive kidnapping attempt of Vinzer Deling several weeks ago, which had nearly blown their covers.

Watts regularly went about in disguise, while Zone simply kept a low profile, leaving the intelligence gathering to his partner, who was much better at it and less apt to have an unfortunate attack of gastritis at an inopportune time.

Zone passed by the Timber Maniacs building as he had for the past two days, watching for any kind of sign from Rinoa. He didn't think they'd get there early, though he'd checked surreptitiously the previous day without finding anything. This morning however…

Fresh oak leaves were scattered across the flagstones in front of the building, and upon them, a bunch of nutmeg geranium, dew still sitting upon the petals. _Independence. Expected meeting._

They had arrived.  
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Do you think they got the message yet?" Squall asked Rinoa.

"Probably. Watts and Zone at least will show up sometime this evening I'd guess." Rinoa answered.

"So, what? We just lie low here until they do?" Zell asked her.

"Pretty much. And avoid being detected by Galbadian patrols, though I haven't seen too many out this way." Rinoa answered.

Squall nodded. The closer they'd gotten to Timber yesterday, the more desperate things had appeared. Abandoned farmsteads, weed-choked fields, rutted and rough roads spoke of a place where things were definitely not as they should be. They hadn't seen any of the residents yet though.

Not all of the fields were abandoned however, they had seen evidence that at least some of them were being worked and _some_ food was being produced, but it was unclear how much and who was actually deriving benefit from it. From what Watts and Zone had told them, it wasn't the people of Timber, at least not to any great extent.

"We need to get under cover." Squall observed, feeling a little too exposed at the moment, even in the thick forest.

Selphie and Zell nodded in agreement, and they all searched around until they found what appeared to be a natural bower created from several large, thick shrubs tangled with wild grape and raspberry vines. Quiet curses accompanied the scratches left behind by forcing a pathway through the raspberry canes, but once they'd got through them, they found the perfect spot to take shelter.

Deer had apparently used this bower as a bed on more than one occasion, with the leaf litter, grasses and loam flattened and pounded soft by numerous cloven hooves. The leaves from the sheltering shrubbery shaded them, allowing only diffuse spears of morning light through to illuminate the thicket.

Rinoa investigated the grapevines and raspberry canes, sighing in disappointment when no fruit was in evidence. Perhaps it was the wrong season for grapes and raspberries.

They were within sight of the rallying point, and Rinoa knew to listen for their hail and how to answer. Meanwhile, they had the entire day to wait and nothing really to do.

She glanced over at Selphie and Zell, then let her gaze linger on Squall, sighing again. There was one thing that Rinoa _wished_ she could do with Squall, but it would require a bit more privacy and a _lot_ less danger than their current situation could offer.

She had again managed to convince Squall to let her share his tent with him, but convincing him to do anything more than sleep had been surprisingly difficult. It wasn't as though he didn't want her; she knew he did. It appeared to be mainly due to the fact that while his current assignment had yet to officially begin, he was still working. They were entering enemy territory; the best that they could hope for was semi-privacy in his tent, and allowing himself to get wrapped up in her just didn't seem like a good idea at the moment. Rinoa understood all of this intellectually, but neither her heart nor her body was paying attention.

She hadn't even had the chance to tell him that the whole issue of "protection" had already been handled, thanks to Selphie and Dr. Kadowaki. Selphie had told her about standard procedures for female SeeDs preparing to go out on assignment…procedures that included a long-term contraceptive shot. It answered a lot of questions Rinoa had that had cropped up during her time working with Selphie and Quistis. It was extremely frustrating and disappointing to her that she couldn't take advantage of that.

Rinoa finally got up and moved over to where Squall sat, leaning against the fairly substantial trunk of one of the shrubs making up their shelter.

Sitting down next to him, she gently raked her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck, careful not to tug at the tangles. Then she rubbed her knuckles against his cheek, fascinated by the scratch of his rather patchy stubble. She leaned into him then and he took her hand.

"You look tired." She said softly.

He shrugged, "I didn't sleep well."

Rinoa sighed, "I'm sorry…"

"Not your fault," he said, letting the subject drop.

"If you want to take a nap, you can use me as a pillow." Rinoa offered. Squall studied her for a moment in silence, considering that.

"That wouldn't be very comfortable for you." He said with a slight frown.

"It'd be fine. I could lean back against that trunk like where you are and you could use my thighs as a pillow." Rinoa told him.

Glancing over at Selphie and Zell, Squall said, "Zell, I want you and Selphie to go on a patrol of the area. Stay out of sight, report back anything you see. I'll take a turn later when you get back."

Zell exchanged grins with Selphie and winked at Squall, saying, "We'll take our time, commander."

Squall simply grunted, too tired to do much more than that. Zell and Selphie both left, gliding quietly through the brush, and surprising Rinoa with how stealthily they could move.

After they left, Rinoa patted her thigh and invited, "So? Nap?"

Sighing, Squall gave in and slowly lay down, carefully laying his head in her lap and arranging himself as comfortably as he could. Then he closed his eyes as Rinoa began stroking the hair back from his forehead. It was…. comforting, what she was doing.

It harkened back to dim memories that were now only vague impressions. But Rinoa's warmth as he rested upon her thigh, her gentle fingers as they caressed his hair and face, her scent…they all combined together to wrap his consciousness up in warm velvet, and feed his starving spirit with their richness.

Still, he couldn't completely relax, not while they were essentially in enemy territory. He wouldn't allow it. So he fought the tide of darkness that drew him inexorably toward the oblivion of sleep. He knew he needed the rest, but he also felt the need to remain alert.

Rinoa sighed, feeling the tension he couldn't completely let go of, and continued combing her fingers through his hair. She didn't dare actively linking with him, fearing what he'd do, but…. she thinned her shields a little bit and tried to project calm. She didn't know if it would work or not, but Edea had told her that projecting emotions was easier than forming words and communicating as though one was speaking to the other person. She felt a slight lessening in his tension, and was encouraged.

"Squall," She whispered. "Relax. I'll keep watch. I'll protect you."

He snorted quietly, and mumbled, "You'll protect _me_?" Rinoa smiled to herself as he buried his head deeper into her lap instead of attempting to move, and continued to stroke and caress his hair.

"Yes. I'm a sorceress, remember? Just this once, let me guard _you_." She whispered.

Sleep was taking a firmer hold upon Squall, and his eyes drifted shut as its warm weight pressed upon him. Slowly the tension that his need for alertness had forced him to maintain began to leach away. But he frowned slightly at the notion of Rinoa protecting him. That wasn't the way things were supposed to be between knights and sorceresses, was it?

" 'S not supposed to work that way…" Squall mumbled, voice slurred and all but asleep.

"I know. But you're tired, and you need to sleep. You always told us to sleep whenever we can. It's your turn now." Rinoa said. She was rewarded, and a little surprised, when he simply sighed and relaxed completely, his even breaths telling her that he'd fallen completely asleep.

She smiled, touched by the trust implicit in that one, small action. It made her want to validate that faith in her, that trust. So thinking, she whispered protection spells upon them both, then contacted the GF that Squall had insisted upon providing her with, asking it to alert her to any danger.

She couldn't stop touching him, stroking his hair, running her fingers over the still unshaven stubble on his cheeks. The texture fascinated her, but she much preferred him smooth, she decided. The random, patchy pattern of the whiskers was decidedly unattractive. Of course, such niceties as showering and shaving were rather hard to come by when one was of necessity living rough. So, yeah, his hair was tangled and slightly greasy; so was hers.

But the mingled scents of wood smoke, leather, and _him_ didn't bother her in the slightest…quite the contrary. She only hoped that _she_ didn't smell too bad. Squall hadn't complained, so perhaps it didn't bother him either.

They stayed like that in a long moment out of time. The light that snuck in through the screening shrubs and grapevines left dappled shadows in the bower, and gave no indication of the passage of time. Rinoa simply sat there and enjoyed the momentary peace. The silence was punctuated by the sound of air moving through the trees, by the birds that flitted and sang in the canopy above their hiding place. She left her hand resting against Squall's cheek, comforted by his warmth and the steady rhythm of his breaths.

She smiled slightly, thinking about the strides he'd made in the time she'd known him. She hadn't planned on falling in love with him, any more than he'd planned on falling for her. He was simply a mercenary she'd hired to help her friends in Timber. A _very_ good-looking mercenary, granted, but still… he'd simply been a means to an end. She'd had no idea what would be set in motion by hiring him. She was glad now that she had.

Watching over him as he slept, Rinoa couldn't help but feel both honored and lucky to be the one person that Squall had placed his trust in. He'd not only trusted her with his heart, a gift beyond price to Rinoa's thinking; he also trusted her to do as she'd said and guard him while he slept. Nothing that Squall could give her from that moment on could equal the gifts of both his heart and his trust. She silently promised herself, and _him_ , that she would treat those gifts with the respect they deserved.

Rinoa decided then that aside from making love with him, sitting in the shade with her beloved knight's head pillowed on her lap as he slept, was another small taste of heaven.  
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A gentle nudge woke Squall and he stretched, gazing up at Rinoa as he did. The first time he'd awakened like that, he'd been closer to being dead than alive, and happier than he'd ever been in his life that the tear-streaked face staring down at him belonged to Rinoa. Now he was far more alive than he'd ever been, and still happier than he'd ever been in his life to see that same face, this time smiling down at him.

"Thank you," he murmured, reaching up and caressing her cheek.

"It was my pleasure. You've watched over me as I slept often enough. It was time I returned the favor." Rinoa said, capturing his hand against her cheek and turning her face into it, kissing the palm.

Squall frowned slightly at that, and said, "You don't owe me anything…"

"Only my life." She said.

"Then we're even. You gave me my life back too, when you called me back from wherever I'd gone after defeating Ultimecia." Squall told her, levering himself upright.

As he stretched, yawning, Rinoa asked him, "Do you feel better? More rested?"

"I do, thanks. I assume you woke me for a reason." Squall stated.

Rinoa nodded, "Selphie and Zell are on their way back. They should be here shortly."

Squall gave her a puzzled look at that and she tapped her head in explanation, saying, "GF. I put it on alert."

"Ah. Well, when they get back, we'll see what they have to report and maybe go on a skulk of our own." Squall said, shifting to lean back against the trunk of the shrub. Really, it was so large it was nearly a small tree, but whatever it was, it screened them effectively from casual view.

Rinoa joined him, moving to sit next to him, her hip touching his as she leaned in, resting her head on his shoulder. He glanced over at her and put his arm around her. He hadn't yet made her aware of his decision to become her knight. He'd meant to tell her that the previous morning and had forgotten in the confusion of striking camp, packing everything up and getting ready to embark upon the final leg of their journey.

It occurred to him that this would be a good time to make that declaration to her.

"What are you thinking?" Rinoa asked him.

He glanced over at her and asked, "Why do you ask?"

"Your brows are knitted like they usually are when you've got something on your mind. Care to share?" Rinoa asked him.

Squall hesitated a moment, then said, "We spoke with Edea at the old orphanage, just after I rescued you from the Sorceress Memorial, and she said that in order for a sorceress to remain stable, she needed a knight. Ultimecia, Adel…they didn't have knights, and…well you know what happened."

Rinoa frowned, disliking the reminder of what could potentially happen to her. She didn't want to think about Squall receiving an order to kill _her_ , just like he'd received an order to kill Edea.

"I know," Rinoa said miserably, burying her face in his neck.

"I wondered about that, you know?" Squall went on. "About what the whole knight-sorceress thing meant. I don't think it was what Seifer thought it was all about, and I don't think he was even really Edea's or rather, _Utimecia's_ knight. Not really. He was more like her slave."

Rinoa remained silent. Would that happen to Squall if she chose him to be her knight? Would he become _her_ slave? Her pawn? The bond had already started, though Rinoa had blocked it out for the most part. Like it or not, however, Squall was already linked to her. If he refused the bond… what would happen? _Could_ he even refuse? And what would it do to him if it turned out that he had no choice and he was bound to her? Would their love survive it?

 _Your knight always has the choice, Rinoa. He CAN refuse the bond, despite the fact that it has already begun. You MUST allow him that choice. If he cannot accept the bond freely and without fear, then he will do you no good and may in fact do you great harm._ Edea's words came to her then, a reminder of an earlier discussion they'd had while Edea was teaching her how to control her abilities.

"Seifer talked about that all the time, when we were kids. About being a knight. I remember that. All of those ideals and things that went into it, and I don't know, I guess Ultimecia used that obsession of his against him to manipulate him into serving her." Squall mused.

Then he studied Rinoa solemnly and said, "But I didn't want to be a knight. I didn't want to be a savior. I just wanted to be a SeeD. A mercenary. So I set out to achieve that goal and ended up with far more than I had expected…." His voice trailed off as he saw tears swimming in Rinoa's eyes.

"You don't want to be a knight?" She repeated, feeling hollow inside.

He frowned then, and sighed, "I'm doing this badly." Then he attempted to explain, "The knight thing, that was Seifer's obsession, not mine. But… the stuff he kept on about… it sunk in. Knights were all about protecting those who couldn't protect themselves. And a sorceress' knight, I guess that protection goes beyond just guarding her, and keeping her safe from harm…it includes the assurance that there's always someone that has your back, that's in your corner. That there's someone who loves you, no matter what."

Rinoa swallowed back tears, slowly realizing what he was reasoning out for himself. She didn't dare speak for fear of distracting him from that process. A necessary one, she knew.

Squall met her eyes then, his gaze solemn as he said, "What I'm rambling on about is this: I made a promise to myself, after I freed you from the Sorceress Memorial, that I would be your knight. You kept saying that SeeD would come kill you and that it'd be okay if it were me that they sent. I couldn't take hearing that, and I decided then that no matter what, I would stand between you and any threat. That _I_ would be your knight." Then he swallowed and looked away briefly, "I'm…sorry, that it's taken me so long to tell you this."

The tears that Rinoa had been holding back suddenly welled up and spilled down her cheeks. Squall frowned slightly, confused by the tears, and reached out to touch them gently. Wiping them away from her cheeks with his fingertips, his frown deepened. She loved him; he _knew_ she did, so why cry when he offered himself as her knight? Didn't she want him?

It didn't matter, he decided, and he repeated firmly, "Rinoa, even if the world is your enemy, I'll be your knight. You'll always have me on your side, no matter what."

Rinoa wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close, burying her face in his neck and sobbing. Squall simply held her, wondering if he'd done something wrong. So he remained silent and stoic while Rinoa's tears wet his shirt again. It wasn't until she reached up and took his face in both of her hands and kissed him, whispering, "I love you," that he figured out that everything was okay.

He pulled her close and kissed her back, closing his eyes and concentrating on the taste and texture of the kiss, losing himself in her. It seemed to go on forever, and Rinoa at least, felt her magic answering his passion. A brief, quick flash of power burst forth from her mind to his, and something…clicked into place.

Then it was gone and Squall was staring at her in wonder.

He licked his still tingling lips and asked her, "What was _that_?"

Rinoa dragged in a shaky breath and answered, "My power…it…gets away from me sometimes." She couldn't tell him what it really was…not yet. But, if she closed her eyes, she could see it…the bond…a still tenuous golden thread that linked them both, mind-to-mind, and heart to heart.

He smiled slowly, like the sun breaking through the clouds, and said, "that felt…pretty amazing."

Rinoa smiled back at him, "yeah, it did."

Squall frowned suddenly and looked around, asking, "Didn't you say that Zell and Selphie were coming?"

"Yeah, a long time ago, actually. I wonder where they are?" She asked, frowning as well.

Angelo answered their questions by perking up his ears and growling. Shortly thereafter they could hear the sounds of someone making their way through the brush to their thicket. Squall tensed reflexively, his hand automatically dropping to the hilt of his gunblade.

"Yo, man, we're back," Zell said, then grinned at how Rinoa was still snuggled under Squall's arm, despite the gunblade that he was gripping with his other hand.

"I tried to give you as much time as possible commander, but I guess it wasn't enough to do much more than snuggle." He said. Selphie giggled. Judging from the Rinoa's radiance and Squall's slight flush, they had done a _little_ more than simply snuggle. She thought they both looked adorable.

Squall simply glared at them and asked curtly, "anything to report?"

Zell sighed slightly, then adopted a more serious mien and answered, "Patrols are fortunately light out here. They seem to concentrate on the roads and the few fields that they've managed to put under cultivation. We _did_ run into someone though…"

He glanced back over his shoulder and nodded, and Watts ducked into the thicket.

"Watts!" Rinoa exclaimed smiling broadly.

"Hey princess. Good to see you again." He gave her a lopsided grin and pushed his cap back a little.

"I didn't think you'd risk coming out here in daylight. We didn't figure on seeing you and Zone until later." Rinoa said.

"Well, it's actually easier to avoid the Galbadian patrols when you can _see_ them." Watts explained. "Zone's already put the word out, so I figured I'd just go ahead and bring you to our meeting place."

"Alright." Squall said, getting up. He reached down and took Rinoa's hand, tugging her to her feet as well.

As they left the thicket, he paused and trilled a soft whistle. The female chocobo, Tariffa, and the male immediately appeared, with all of their gear still on. They followed Squall, Rinoa and the rest as Watts led them the rest of the way to the rallying point.

"It'll take some time for everyone to gather. It's not often we all meet like this. Too many people missing for too long will get noticed by the Galbadians. If they find out that the town's assembling like this, they'll put a stop to it. Can't have us plotting rebellion now, can they?" Watts said as they walked.

They lapsed into silence, everyone paying strict attention to their surroundings and watching for enemies as Watts led them on a circuitous route toward what had essentially become the town's secret meeting hall.

At length, Watts paused and sounded an owl's call. Another sounded from close by, and suddenly an impenetrable thicket of brush opened outward, revealing to them all that it was actually a gateway cleverly camouflaged to mimic a hedge. Watts gestured for them to enter. Squall hesitated a moment, then placed his hand upon the female chocobo's beak and simply said, "wait." It cocked its head and blinked, then moved off a short distance into some more underbrush and simply sat down, disappearing into the forest as easily as that. The male followed suit, and Squall directed Zell, Selphie and Rinoa to precede him through the gateway.

He brought up the rear, watching Watts walking beside him out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm not someone you need to worry about, commander, sir." Watts said calmly.

"Squall. Don't use my rank anywhere but here. It'll give us away as SeeD and compromise this entire operation." Squall said flatly. Watts nodded, swallowing. He hadn't thought about that. He rather suspected that he'd learn a lot of other things that he and the other Owls hadn't thought of while the SeeDs were there.

They continued to what looked like a cave, and Watts turned on a flashlight, preparing to lead Squall into the darkness.

Then Squall paused and gazed narrowly into Watts' eyes, asking in a low voice, "Are you sure of everyone?"

Watts frowned, confused, and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Our first mission here was a colossal failure because _somehow_ , Vinzer Deling became aware of your plans far enough in advance to set up a trap. The only way that could have happened is that someone either talked to the wrong person and accidentally let that information slip or you have a mole in your midst." Squall answered, watching him carefully.

Watts nodded slowly, hand over his mouth, and whispered, "I see what you mean." Then he frowned, thinking. They'd pulled a few jobs since the kidnap attempt, but only small-scale raids with limited participation. Some were successful, but many were not; Watts had put it down to the simple fact that they were outnumbered and outgunned.

What if it had been because someone had _told_ the Galbadians when they were going to attack so that they were ready for them? It was a bitter pill to take for Watts to realize how utterly naïve they'd all been. Himself included.

He swallowed then, realizing that it was only Hyne's grace that kept them alive. If they'd been compromised without them even _realizing_ it…

Squall watched silently as a look of horror spread slowly over Watts' mobile features as Squall's comments sunk in and buried themselves deep into his mind. Fear came next, and Squall welcomed it. He already knew Watts wasn't the type to allow fear to paralyze him. Instead, it would increase his awareness, heighten his caution; something that was necessary in the work that they did, something that would increase their chances of success and hopefully keep them all alive.

"You know these people. Watch them. Find the mole, but _don't_ expose him. Use him instead to feed misinformation to the Galbadians." Squall told him.

Watts nodded, then entered the cave and proceeded down the tunnel toward the cavern where those who had already arrived were waiting for them, Squall padding silently alongside.

Before they entered the cavern however, a thought struck Watts and he stopped. Squall stopped as well and watched him, waiting.

"Everyone in here, everyone that knows this place, I'm reasonably sure of Squall, and I'll tell you why: If the Galbadians had been made aware of this location, I _know_ they would have attacked us here and taken everyone into custody that they found. They would have tortured us to get the identities of everyone involved. They wouldn't just leave us to do what we're doing, they would want to utterly destroy us and every other resistance group that they possibly could. I _know_ this. So, whoever the leak is, they're not involved directly with the Forest Owls or any other resistance group. That's why only _some_ of our operations failed, and not _all_ of them." Watts said, feeling more confident as he reasoned that out.

Squall simply nodded and said, "Then you need to pay closer attention to your secondary contacts."

Watts nodded, "Right. Once everyone is gathered that's coming, I'm going to bring that up first."

"Good." Squall said, and Watts nodded again and took a deep breath.

Once he felt a little calmer despite the unsettling revelation that someone was informing on them, Watts led the way into the cavern itself. Squall followed him like a deadly shadow. Watts couldn't help a shudder at the thought of having someone so dangerous at his back.


	9. Outlaws, Rebels and Renegades

When Selphie, Rinoa and Zell found themselves entering a dimly lighted cavern alone they all stopped, peering around cautiously. Rinoa looked back in consternation when she didn't see Squall or Watts anywhere and felt a thrill of unease.

Then movement in the shadows put them all on alert until a voice said, "Hey princess, it's good to see you again. Glad you made it."

"Zone!" Rinoa gasped and ran up to him, flinging her arms around his waist in a tight hug. He gasped slightly at the pressure, but hugged her back, prompting her to step back and peer at him in the dimness.

"You okay?" She asked him, frowning. He'd lost weight, and he hadn't been that hefty to begin with. Zone took a deep breath and swallowed, unconsciously placing his hand over his stomach before forcibly snatching it away.

"I'm… I'm fine." Zone said. The last thing he wanted to do was to show any form of weakness in front of the SeeDs. Squall in particular. He hadn't forgotten the frosty look of disdain he'd gotten from Squall just before the failed kidnap attempt on President Deling. His nervousness had gotten the better of him and his ulcer chose that moment to flare up, forcing him to drop to his knees in pain. It would have been less embarrassing to wet his pants.

In spite of the SeeD's normally unreadable countenance, Zone could see plainly in that instant that Squall thought he was a coward and the stomach pains a ruse to get out of participating in anything dangerous. That stung him to the core. It made his reaction to learning that Squall had failed to protect his princess unaccountably harsh.

It was awfully satisfying however to recall the SeeD's look of pained surprise when Zone had grabbed his collar and punched him squarely in the jaw at hearing the news. Of course, thinking back on it now, Zone was merely thankful that Squall himself was feeling so badly about Rinoa's plight that he hadn't bothered to fight back. Otherwise, he had no doubt that the SeeD would likely have killed him out of a reflexive response to the unprovoked attack.

"Are you sure?" Rinoa pressed, peering up at him in the uncertain light. It was difficult to tell, but he seemed more pale than usual. She wondered if his stomach was bothering him again.

"Yeah. Where's Squall?" Zone asked, looking around and not seeing him.

"Bringing up the rear, apparently. He'll be along." Rinoa said. More movement in the shadows made Rinoa gradually aware that there were more people there, talking in barely audible whispers. She peered around, only just becoming aware of the silent gathering.

"More are coming. It'll take time though, too many leaving at once will attract notice." Zone said.

Rinoa nodded, then she asked, "is everyone coming?"

Zone shook his head, "Not the whole town, no. But nearly all of the different resistance groups are going to be represented. It's just not possible to get _everyone_ together… it's too dangerous."

Rinoa nodded. She knew. Still, she was impressed at the number of people that did manage to attend. She didn't think she'd ever seen _all_ of the resistance groups in the same place at the same time, and while all of them weren't there now, _most_ of them had at least one of their members there. And according to Zone, more were coming. In the end, it was very likely that most of Timber's population would end up in the cavern, since virtually everyone in town was a sympathizer, supporter or an active participant in the resistance.

Zone's gaze left Rinoa's and focused over her left shoulder at the same time that she felt Squall's presence behind her. That momentarily distracted her, for she'd been shielded, but she still felt him. His warmth, his essence, the weight of his emotions, all radiated from him like heat from the sun. She wanted to lean back and bask in that warmth. It drew her like a moth to flame.

"Squall." Zone said, acknowledging his presence. Squall simply nodded, his gaze flickering over both he and Rinoa and cooling considerably.

Then Rinoa stepped back and leaned into Squall, smiling and sighing softly as she rested against his warm body. The tension that Zone had just become aware of immediately ceased as Squall's attention was drawn to her. Zone watched in fascination the subtle change that stole over the forbidding young mercenary at that point. Squall's expression never changed, but his gaze softened and his stance firmed, his body forming a solid bulwark for Rinoa to rest against.

A slight movement drew Zone's attention as Rinoa reached down and laced her fingers through Squall's, and he sighed. No, he'd never had a chance with her. And he never would. The pang in his heart nearly equaled the pain in his gut, and Zone, an old hand at dealing with both, shoved them both aside and focused on the reason they were there.

"Not everyone's arrived yet, but most of the active resistance groups have at least one or two representatives here. More are coming." Zone said.

"I see." Squall said, gazing around the cavern and noting those that had gathered so far.

"Who's here now?" Rinoa asked.

"Vulpe, Shrike, Kestrel. The Nighthawks and the Corbies are sending their representatives. And… _he's_ here." Zone told her.

Rinoa stared at him, eyes wide. " _He?_ You mean…?"

"Yes." Zone directed his attention to Squall and said gravely, "Commander Leonhart, I'd like to introduce you to the father of Timber's resistance. He's the last surviving member of the Timber Wolves, the toughest unit in what used to be Timber's army, and a bona fide legend in these parts. They held out the longest, fighting to the last man. Him. He only survived because someone found him, hid him, and nursed him back to health. He started organizing Timber's resistance as soon as he was healthy enough."

A tapping had started from a shadowy section of the cavern, growing louder as Zone spoke. Squall watched the approach of the as yet unknown shadow, wondering if this person was the one that Zone was referring to. That thought was confirmed when the man entered the circle of light that they stood in and Zone introduced him.

"Squall, this is Tim Lobo, former Sergeant in the Timber army. Tim, this is Commander Squall Leonhart, the leader of the SeeDs that Rinoa hired." Zone gestured toward the man that had joined them, and Squall narrowed his eyes, taking his measure.

He almost smiled when he noticed the man doing the same thing to him. Rinoa and Zone exchanged a worried glance when the silence stretched while the two warriors sized each other up.

Grizzle haired, one-eyed, tall and lean, the man appeared to be in his mid-forties. Despite the obvious damage done to his body by the war, as evidenced by the eye patch and the walking stick that he leaned heavily upon, he still looked strong and capable. It made Squall wonder; with someone like that organizing their resistance from the start, how was it that they had achieved virtually nothing at all in the nearly twenty years that they'd been doing it?

Finally, the man nodded his head, acknowledging Squall, and said in a rough, gravelly voice, "Lobo."

Squall nodded back, replying in kind, "Squall."

"Not hung up on rank. Good." Lobo said with a slight quirk to his lips.

When Squall remained silent, the man laughed slightly, adding, "and you know how to keep your counsel. Even better. I've heard about you, Commander." Here he paused and took out a cigarette, lighting it and taking a slow drag.

He exhaled the smoke slowly, and as it drifted toward the ceiling of the cave, he continued, "Found most of it hard to believe. A wet behind the ears seventeen-year-old kid made commander and managed to save the world? SeeD or not, it stretches the imagination." Then he narrowed his one remaining eye and challenged, "Convince me it wasn't an exaggeration, a fluke."

The temperature between the two suddenly seemed to drop to the point that Rinoa nearly shivered. Despite the balmy summer temperatures outside, both Rinoa and Zone would not have been surprised to see their breath fogging in the sudden chill that had fallen.

Squall simply glared at the man, icy mask firmly in place, and said flatly, "What _I_ find hard to believe is the fact that you've worked all this time with the resistance and yet have accomplished so little. Convince _me_ that you're worthy of your legendary status."

Rinoa, Zone, and Watts, who'd joined them in the middle of this duel of words between Squall and Lobo, stared in shock as Squall coolly insulted the man.

There was a breathless instant that had everyone present wondering who'd throw the first punch, and then the tension was broken as Lobo started laughing.

"I like this kid. Nothing fazes him." Lobo took another drag from his cigarette, still chuckling. Yeah, Leonhart was young, but Lobo knew that he was looking at a hardened veteran despite his youth. That steady fearlessness that the boy displayed was something that only experience provided. Maybe when he'd first come to Timber all those weeks ago, he _had_ been that wet-behind-the ears SeeD, but his experiences since had made him stronger.

"Goin' by what I've heard, _you're_ the one that's halfway to legend. If it's the truth, that is." the former soldier added. Squall shrugged indifferently, and Zell spoke up from nearby.

"It is." he confirmed, earning himself a cold glare from his commander.

"Well then boy, you might just be the edge we need to put this war to bed once and for all." Lobo said, finishing his smoke and dropping the butt on the floor of the cave.

"We hope so." Rinoa said, laying her hand against Squall's bicep and feeling the tension that still lingered in his crossed arms and semi aggressive stance. She tried her emotional projection trick again; sending calming thoughts out to him, and smiled to herself as he began to relax.

Zone nodded his agreement, saying; "We'll discuss all of that and more in depth when a few more people arrive. We want as many as possible present, it'll make disseminating information that much easier."

"Fair enough," Lobo said. "What do you suggest we do in the meantime? Talk about the weather? Play cards?"

"We could introduce Squall, Zell and Selphie to everyone that's here now," Rinoa suggested.

Squall frowned. More names and faces that he'd have to attempt to remember. More people that he'd have to pretend to care about for Rinoa's sake. He was terrible at that kind of stuff, always had been. He was just there to do a job, get it done and move on with his life. Period.

And unlike his father… _correction. The man who might POSSIBLY be my father. Until I see a DNA test saying so, I'm not going to believe it. Just because HE says so, doesn't mean its true._ Unlike _Laguna Loire_ , Squall had no intention of actually _leading_ the people of Timber in their quest for freedom. He would help them and support them in their fight. That was what SeeDs did. But he would not _lead_ them.

The person who led this fight had to be the one that everyone looked up to, knew, and trusted. This person would have to carry through after they'd achieved their goal and hold it all together while they re-established order and began to self-govern again. In short, much like what had happened to Laguna, this person had to be committed to Timber and be able to take on the mantle of leadership for as long as it took for the country to be able to stand on its own again.

Squall would lead and participate in the battles, but he would _not_ lead the war. That job had to belong to someone else. And like it or not, the best candidate for that job appeared to be Zone. Despite his obvious weakness, he was well liked, fairly intelligent and organized. Weakness could be overcome with strong support. Besides, too much strength in a leader oftentimes resulted in a dictatorship; something that the people of Timber had already lived with for far too long.

Squall studied Lobo speculatively. He was the obvious choice in light of his experience, but something was lacking in him. Something that was needed in order for the resistance to prevail; Squall didn't know what it was, but he knew Lobo did not posses it. Otherwise, they would not even be here. No, unless someone better suited to the job came along, Zone was it. Squall wondered if Zone or anyone else for that matter was aware that in a sense, Zone was _already_ leading the resistance. It wouldn't take much to convince him to take the reins in earnest.

One thing was certain however; that leader _could not_ be Rinoa. Squall was prepared to fight her on that score. No matter how much she cared for Timber and its residents, she was _not_ a local. And Squall had already decided that he would not lose her to them.

No, no matter how much Rinoa cared about the town and its residents, the leader had to be Zone.  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rinoa watched as more people filed in, more lights were brought, and it became easier to see them all. Introductions were made, with Squall nodding but otherwise remaining silent. Not much of a surprise there, really. He disliked and avoided social conventions unless he had no other choice, Rinoa had learned early on in their relationship.

She sensed in him a watchful wariness as he scanned the cavern and everyone in it. It was obvious to anyone who saw him that he was aligned with Rinoa only, and everyone else was viewed with suspicion. She wondered why, and resolved to ask him about it when they had a moment alone.

Then she remembered the fruit that they'd brought along with them and called Zell over.

"Zell, would you mind running out to get that fruit we brought along?" She asked him. "I hope it's still all right, it was kind of a bumpy ride getting here."

"I'm sure it'll be fine Rinoa," Selphie said.

"Yeah, I can get that for ya, no prob. And I agree with Selphie, I think everything will be fine." Zell said.

Squall glanced over at Selphie and said, "Go with him and have him help you bring our gear in too."

"Okay." Selphie said and they both left.

They returned just as Zone approached them, saying, "I think this is all that's going to show up. We can't have this many people gone for too long, so we might as well get started. They all need to be able to get home before dark. The soldiers shoot anyone they catch out after dark. No exceptions."

Squall glanced over at Watts, who shrugged, "I'm careful not to get caught, but even _I_ don't tempt fate that often."

"Well, before you do, we brought some fruit with us that we figured you might need. We came across an abandoned orchard about a day's travel back the way we came and packed up as much as we could carry." Rinoa said, taking one of the bags that held the oranges and handing it to Zone.

Zell and Selphie brought the other ones over, depositing them in the middle of the cavern.

Zone swallowed, touched by the gesture. It wasn't enough for everyone, Rinoa and her friends had to know that, but it would help. And more importantly, they knew where it was. It wouldn't be too difficult to get a group together with bigger baskets, bags, or whatever, and more chocobos, to bring back more.

"Thanks Rinoa. It'll help. And maybe you or one of your friends could show us where it is and we could get more." He said.

"Less dangerous than raiding the garrison, that's for sure," Watts said.

"It'll help with the supply issues at least." Squall added.

"And that's one of our biggest problems, among others. We'll lay it all out for you Squall." Zone said, then raising his voice, got the attention of everyone in the cavern. "Thank you for coming, I know you all took a big risk to do this. You all know Rinoa, and most of you know that she hired some SeeD mercenaries awhile back to help us out. You all know the events that took place that momentarily took precedence over our concerns. That situation's been resolved, and Rinoa's back with her SeeDs to finish the job they were hired for. The commander of the SeeDs, Squall, has asked that I get as many people involved in this as possible."

Glancing over at Squall, Zone asked him, "Would you like to continue and tell everyone here what you need for them to know?" Squall glared over at Zone, then sighed.

Finally he said, "My team and I were hired by Miss Heartilly to assist you in reaching your goal of independence from Galbadia. In order for you to achieve that goal, everyone has to work together. We will assist in any way that you need, but unless everyone is on the same page, you'll end up with the same results that you've had for the last seventeen years. I need to know, _now_ , if you're all committed to this. I will warn you; we are here to get results. And we will use whatever means we have at our disposal to reach them. In other words, this is a war, and there will be blood."

Then Squall speared them all with an icy glare and added, "I've been assured that everyone here is trustworthy. I hope that is the case, because things will get immeasurably more difficult as we step up the fight against Galbadia. Make no mistake; they will kill us all if they learn of what we're doing. I'm going to tell you all right now: if you can't stay the course with this, then leave now and never speak of this again. Anyone talks about this outside of this cavern and I find out about it, I'll kill you myself. Betrayal will not be tolerated."

Squall paused and waited, watching as the gathered listeners looked around at each other uneasily. As they did, Rinoa watched _him_ , trying hard not to be disturbed by Squall's cold, implacable expression. Zone too, frowned slightly at that statement, gazing around the cavern at the people there.

When nobody moved, Squall said, "I'll take this to mean you all want to be free from Galbadia's occupation." A collective nod from the occupants of the cavern confirmed this, and Squall continued, "Good. What we need to do now is to identify the biggest obstacles to reaching that objective, come up with solutions to those problems, and start making plans. And I need to know all of your strengths and weaknesses, what you can contribute toward that goal."

The remaining time was spent with Squall listening intently as Zone coached that information from everyone present. By the time they were finished, Squall had what he wanted. He knew what each of the various groups and individuals could do, what they specialized in, and what resources they had. He knew the biggest challenges that the resistance faced, and was already thinking of ways to overcome them.

One of the most pressing of those barriers was the lack of supplies. Not just in ammunition or weapons, but of food. In fact, that was the biggest concern that everyone had. One solution was to send a group back to the orchard they'd found to pick as much fruit as they could, but that would have to be done on a regular basis, taking up time and personnel that might be needed elsewhere. And there was the risk that such regular traffic back and forth would be marked by the Galbadians and they'd be caught.

There was also hunting, but in the woods around Timber that was also a hazardous proposition. Nobody was supposed to have even so much as a large knife, and the soldiers were strict about maintaining that rule. Anyone caught with a gun…well, they were _supposed_ to be imprisoned. Most of the time however, they were simply shot. The woods around Timber were nearly hunted out anyway. To find enough game, one would have to go farther afield.

In listening to the people of Timber talk about their various challenges, Squall noticed that the Galbadians appeared to have gotten a great deal more trigger happy since the last time he'd been there. Such harshness _did_ keep the people in line, but did nothing to quell the resentment everyone felt toward the soldiers. Indeed, it fostered it, gave the resistance more strength, as more and more people grew tired of living under Galbadia's rule.

Squall sensed that building tension in the way the people spoke about their situations and how it felt to be living in an occupied state. It hadn't built to an unbearable point were something had to give…. _yet_. Squall hoped that it would not until they were all ready to act as a unit.

Glancing over at Zone, Squall said, "So it sounds like the biggest challenge so far is supplies."

"Yes. I can get you a tally of what weapons and ammunition we have once we figure it out amongst ourselves. But food is our most pressing concern." Zone replied.

"A starving army is a weak one." Zell commented. Squall and Selphie both nodded.

"Do you have a weapons cache?" Squall asked.

"The various resistance groups all have their own caches, that's why it'll take some time to get an accurate tally of what we're working with weapons-wise. The Forest Owls has a cache in these caverns here." Zone answered.

"Its hard to find," Watts commented. "You have to know these caves intimately to find it or you'll get lost."

"See if you can't convince the other groups to pool their resources with yours. Offer them the use of your cache if they bring all of their weapons and ammo to add to what you've already got." Squall suggested.

"What about sending a team back to the orchard Squall?" Rinoa asked him.

Squall frowned, "We'll have to plan that carefully Rinoa. I'll send Zell to guide them when they go."

Turning his attention back to Zone, Squall asked him, "You haven't gotten so desperate for food that you've eaten your chocobos yet, have you?"

Zone looked appalled, "No! Never!"

Squall simply shrugged, "If there's no other option, there is always that. But its good that you still have them, it'll make it easier to get food and supplies in here since the normal modes are cut off."

"Its pretty obvious we're going to be here for awhile, isn't it Squall?" Zell asked him.

Squall nodded, "Yeah, this isn't going to happen overnight. I hope you guys weren't thinking that."

"Have you given any thought to where you're going to be staying while you're in Timber?" Zone asked them all.

Squall blinked. Actually, he hadn't, but he'd been considering the shuttered Timber Maniacs building as a base of operations.

"Well, you can't simply rent a hotel room. You'd stick out like sore thumbs and the Galbadians would know something was up the minute you rolled into town." Watts said flatly.

"Especially if they got a good look at _you_ ," Zone added, gesturing toward Squall's scar. "That scar's a dead giveaway. Those soldiers you ran afoul of the last time you were here are going to remember you. You didn't kill _all_ of them, and your scar makes you very recognizable."

Squall frowned fiercely, asking, "what do you suggest I do then?"

"Stick with Watts. He'll get you into town, no problem. Zell, I've got a spare room, you can bunk there if you want. Princess?" Zone directed toward Rinoa.

"I can stay with Vulpe, like I did before. I'll go ask her if she's got room for Selphie and I." Rinoa said, giving Squall's arm a reassuring squeeze as she left with Selphie to speak with the leader of the Forest Foxes.

Squall's frown deepened as Rinoa left. While he hadn't actually been all that comfortable _sleeping_ with her, the thought of being separated from her didn't sit too well with him either. He couldn't protect her if he was nowhere near her. Nor could he hold her and listen to her breath, feel her warmth, and hear her heartbeat. No, that was not a situation that sat well with Squall at all. Unfortunately, there wasn't much that he could do about it at the moment.

"Well. Looks like you're my new roommate." Watts commented, wondering privately how that was going to work out. _Zone's gonna owe me big for this. Especially if the guy turns out to be a psycho._

"What?" Squall asked.

"I've got a spare room in my house too. It'll make it easier for planning purposes as well, since nobody will think anything of Zone coming and going all the time. We've been friends since childhood, so that won't be anything unusual." Watts explained.

Squall sighed. It was logical, and a good idea. But he didn't have to like it.  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

By the time the meeting was ended and everyone drifted off to his or her respective homes, a solid plan had been put into place for a trip to the orchard. Zell would lead the way back with a team of five people and chocobos. Everyone would be equipped with extra carrying sacks or baskets, and the trip would take place in three days time.

It would take a day to get there, a day to pick the fruit, and then a day to come back. Three days altogether. Too long, to Squall's way of thinking, but what other choice did they have? People had to eat, and if they were too busy trying to get fed, they wouldn't be very effective doing much of anything else.

They had to figure out some way to get a steady, reliable supply of food for everyone that didn't depend upon dangerous raids or protracted trips. Although of those two options, the trip was the better one. Leaving the garrison alone for the time being would actually have a side benefit of putting the Galbadians off their guard. No raids would lead them to believe that the resistance had given up. A breathing space would hopefully cause the soldiers to relax their vigilance, while at the same time allowing the resistance to make plans to get them out of Timber once and for all.

And then….one decisive strike, right at the garrison itself. If they timed it right, attacked at the right moment, they could take the garrison by surprise and win control of it. If they managed to accomplish that, then if and when Galbadia finally got it together and sent reinforcements, Timber would be better able to defend itself.

It was risky. Some might even say it was insane and would never work. The numbers alone said it would be hopeless. Too few against too many, too little ammunition, weapons, and supplies. But Squall had fought a pitched battle like this not too long ago when Galbadia and Balamb Gardens had fought, and what he'd learned from that battle, he was prepared to apply to this one. One thing for certain, the Galbadians would never expect an all out attack.

But it would take careful planning, and a lot more information about the garrison itself than Squall currently had. It was an ambitious scheme, one that would take time and patience to bring about the results that Squall wanted. It was also, at least for the time being, an idea that Squall would keep to himself.

"Squall?" Rinoa's voice brought his attention back to the cavern and the now dispersing occupants.

"You looked pretty deep in thought." Rinoa commented.

"Yeah." He said. Rinoa waited a moment, and when he didn't say anything else, she sighed.

"Well… Vulpe's leaving. Selphie and I are going with her. You know where her house is, right?" Rinoa asked him.

Squall frowned, then asked, "She's the leader of the Forest Foxes? We hid out at her place last time we were here. Next door to the Timber Maniacs building, right?"

"Right." She confirmed, then reached for his hands, threading her fingers through his.

Squall swallowed, suddenly tongue-tied. Too many people about. Too many ears to hear things meant for Rinoa alone. Things like, _don't go. Stay with me. Be safe. I love you…_

Instead he said, "I'll see you…" _sometime soon, I hope._

A voice calling Rinoa's name drew her attention toward the other end of the cavern.

"I'm coming!" she called out to them, then turned back to Squall, releasing his hands and flinging her arms around him, holding him tight.

Squall closed his eyes and held her like he'd never let her go. But he had to.

"I've got to go," Rinoa whispered into his chest. "I love you." Then she pulled away and ran toward the other end of the cavern where Selphie and the woman Vulpe waited for her. Squall watched her as she left, feeling as though his feet were nailed to the floor while his entire being was striving to follow her.

"Goodbyes said?" Watts asked him. Despite his shuttered expression, the mere fact that his attention was riveted to Rinoa's departing figure was proof that the young SeeD had it bad for her. He had to admit having his doubts about that at first, but seeing them together had dispelled them.

"No. SeeDs don't say good-bye. It's bad luck." Squall said in a remote voice.

"I see. Well, we'd best get moving sir. Here, put this hat on." Watts handed him a billed cap with the logo of Galbadia's professional hockey team on it.

Squall frowned down at it and said, "No."

"Look, we need to hide that scar. This is the best way of going about it, unless you have another suggestion?" Watts asked in exasperation. Squall shook his head.

"Then put the hat on." Watts said.

Squall folded his arms across his chest and said stubbornly, "I'm not wearing the hat."

"What's going on guys? We've got to go before it gets dark." Zell said, Zone following after him as he approached the two.

"We've got to hide that scar of his, and he won't wear a hat," Watts said in frustration.

"What hat?" Zell asked him. Watts showed him the cap and Zell snorted.

Digging into one of his pockets, he pulled out a black bandanna and handed it to Squall.

"Here." He said. When Squall eyed it dubiously, Zell rolled his eyes and added, "Don't worry, it's clean. I use it to keep the sweat out of my eyes when I'm working out or fighting, and I haven't used it yet."

"Fine." Squall said, folding it carefully and tying it around his forehead. It did the trick all right, hiding the scar quite effectively.

"Nice look." Zell said approvingly, then added, "we're outta here man. Catcha later." Zone left and Zell followed him out of the cavern.

"Let's go." Watts said, heading toward the exit himself. Squall followed him without further argument.

They left the cavern and were walking down the passageway leading out of the cave system before Watts' curiosity finally got the better of him.

"I've gotta ask. What's the deal with the hat? Why wouldn't you wear it?" Squall was silent for so long, that Watts didn't think he would answer.

Finally, Squall said, "I hate hats. And I _despise_ hockey."


	10. Shades of Gray

"Okay," Watts said as they walked through the forest toward his house in Timber. "If anyone asks, you're my cousin Leon from Balamb."

Squall frowned, "Why Balamb? Wouldn't that be a giveaway to the fact that I'm SeeD?"

"Not really. I actually _do_ have a cousin in Balamb, first of all. Second of all, unless you can disguise your accent, it'll give you away as being from Balamb anyway." Watts explained. Then he glanced over at Squall and asked him, " _Can_ you?"

Squall grimaced and admitted, "Not really, no."

"Well, you don't talk much anyway, so I guess that won't be a huge problem." Watts commented. Squall simply grunted in reply and Watts snorted.

They continued threading their way cautiously though the forest, Squall alert to anything that might be a threat, while Watts led the way. He felt exposed and vulnerable without his gunblade hanging from his hip. Watts had been prepared to argue with him about the gunblade but Squall wasn't stupid. Ordinary citizens didn't walk around wearing a weapon like that. Not even the _soldiers_ had a weapon like Lion Heart.

Squall had removed the gunblade and stuffed it, scabbard and all, into his backpack. The handle of it protruded a hand's length from the top of the pack, but it wasn't terribly noticeable and Squall could still draw the weapon out at need. It would be awkward and cumbersome, and much slower than Squall's normal draw, but he could still use it. He would have to rely heavily upon defensive magic to compensate for his decreased speed however.

Still, he felt somehow incomplete without Lion Heart's comforting weight at his side.

As they traversed the darkening forest, Squall realized that Watts was simply skirting the perimeter of Timber, thereby circumventing the town itself and avoiding as many people and soldiers as possible. Through the thick woods it was difficult to tell how far from the town they actually were, but Squall didn't think they were that far outside of it. Just far enough that they could travel unobserved.

They worked their way to the edge of the town where the trees were thinning out. Squall was able to see buildings through the trees, buildings that turned out to be mostly homes when they drew closer. They ended up in a part of Timber that Squall had never seen before.

One thing that was immediately apparent was that it appeared to be much older than what Squall had taken to be the center of Timber. The homes here, some abandoned and crumbling, others still apparently occupied and maintained, all showed their age in the style of construction and the various stages of disrepair they all exhibited.

There was what might have been a town square here at one time; the cracked flagstones now overgrown with weeds, and drifted over with leaves and trash. The oak trees that had been planted to decorate and shade the square when it was new hundreds of years ago, now dominated it, the massive trunks supporting spreading canopies that nearly tangled together to put the center of the square into permanent twilight.

At one end of the square however, dominating even the massive oak trees, stood a once gracefully constructed building made of the native granite. It was now crumbling, like many of the other buildings in the square. Some of them Squall could identify as former government buildings, abandoned for the newer ones built near what was now the heart of Timber. But _this_ one…. Squall had never seen its like before. It soared over all of the other buildings in the square with a steeply pitched slate roof and a tall spire, within which appeared to be a bell tower.

"This used to be the heart of Timber." Watts said quietly.

Squall nodded. He didn't need to ask what had happened to it, it was all too apparent. Galbadia had come, and had killed it. The Timber that now existed was the Timber that President Deling had built. The original character, history, and heart of the town, the entire _country_ , had been wiped away by Galbadia's occupation.

Finally Squall asked, "What's that big building at the end there? The one with the bell tower?"

"It was the soul of Timber." Watts answered.

"The soul?" Squall asked, puzzled.

"It used to be a church. The Galbadians destroyed it when the priest had the audacity to shelter one of the Timber Wolves and nurse him back to health." Watts answered.

"Lobo." Squall stated.

"Yes." Watts confirmed.

"What happened to the priest?" Squall asked.

"He refused to leave the church. The sanctuary was still intact, even if the rest of it was wrecked. He continued with his duties there, and became an unofficial part of the original Timber resistance, offering the sanctuary as a shelter to the active fighters. Eventually, the Galbadians found out about it and executed him. We haven't had a priest since." Watts explained.

What Watts didn't mention was the fact that his and Zone's fathers had been executed right along with the priest. And Zone had been forced to watch, just as Watts had. He supposed that he and Zone should have been honored that President Deling himself had executed their fathers. But it didn't feel that way. If there was one thing that he regretted bitterly, it was the fact that he hadn't been able to kill Vinzer Deling himself.

Squall made no further comment, following Watts wordlessly through the ruined square to a house made of the same native stone.

"Here it is." Watts said, opening the weathered front door with a creak. "Make yourself at home. The spare room's upstairs on the right. And believe it or not, I actually _do_ have hot and cold running water, a working shower, _and_ a phone."

Squall nodded and made his way to the stairway, studying the rest of the house as he did, wondering if Watts' mention of the shower was a subtle hint. Maybe, and maybe not…. it could simply be the fact that Squall keenly felt the need to be clean and had keyed into the mention of a shower with undeniable relief.

As Squall disappeared upstairs, Watts called up at him, "You're welcome!" He was answered by a click as the door to the spare room swung shut. Yup. The guy truly had a charming personality. He wondered what Rinoa saw in him. Obviously, it was something not immediately apparent to anyone else.

Moments later, Watts heard the shower start running. Well, at least he didn't need to worry about the guy's hygiene. That was one small relief anyway.

Taking his cap off, Watts hung it on a peg near the door and raked his fingers through his hair, grimacing at how greasy it felt. Come to think of it, _he_ could use a shower as well. He headed toward the kitchen, deciding to take one after they'd eaten dinner.

He was hunkered down in front of the refrigerator, studying the sparse offerings within and trying to figure out what to feed both himself and his guest, when a voice behind him asked, "You guys weren't kidding about practically starving, were you?"

Watts started and gasped, "Jeez! Give a guy some warning, will ya?" He stood and shut the refrigerator door, facing Squall with his hand pressed to his pounding heart.

Squall simply watched him with nothing more threatening than a mildly curious expression on his face. He had dressed in shades of gray; gray long-sleeved shirt, jeans that had faded to a blue-gray. No belts (and Watts wondered about that. What was up with all those belts anyway?), and obviously, no gunblade.

Finally gathering his scattered wits, Watts said, "yeah, well… I was just trying to figure out what to fix us for dinner."

"I can toss in my SeeD rations. They're not much but they'll help." Squall offered, then asked, "What else have you got?"

"Take a look." Watts said, gesturing toward the cupboards and pantry in the kitchen.

Squall nodded and spent the next several minutes perusing the pantry, fridge and cupboard, commenting at one point, "No coffee."

"Yeah, that's kind of hard to come by these days." Watts replied. Then he frowned as Squall started pulling random things out of the pantry and cupboards.

"What are you doing?" Watts asked in confusion.

Squall replied with a question of his own, "Do you keep chickens? I noticed fresh eggs in your refrigerator."

"Yeah. Well actually, my neighbor does. I just help her take care of them and help her with the house and stuff. We split whatever eggs we gather. She's pretty old and there's nobody else for her..." Watts answered, voice trailing off as Squall simply nodded and continued what he was doing.

"Are you _cooking?_ " Watts asked him in dawning surprise as he watched Squall moving about the kitchen.

"That's generally what you have to do if you want to eat." Squall answered.

"I know that. I just never guessed that you'd know how to _cook_." Watts commented.

"When its either that or starve, you figure it out pretty quick." Squall said. Watts watched as Squall opened a bag of beans that had been sitting in the back of the pantry, deftly sorting through them, then rinsing them off and dumping them into a pot of water. Tossing in a pinch of salt, he put the pot on the stove to boil.

"I can manage okay myself, but I can't say that I'm all that great. I wouldn't have the first clue of how to cook beans, for example." Watts said.

"Which explains why they've been in your pantry for who knows how long." Squall commented. Locating another pot, he added more water and rice, putting it on the stove as well. Ignoring the puzzled look Watts gave him at that, Squall disappeared upstairs briefly to get his SeeD rations, sticking them into the cupboard by the stove when he returned.

Frowning, Squall asked Watts, "You don't have any yeast do you? I didn't see any when I looked in your pantry."

"I think I have some…" Watts frowned back, checking and returning triumphantly with a couple of packets.

"Good. You're nearly out of bread." Squall said, searching for a large mixing bowl and beginning to measure out the ingredients needed to make bread.

"You _bake_ too?" Watts asked, surprise deepening.

"Just bread. It's easy." Squall answered.

"Wait. I don't get it. You're a mercenary. You kill for a living. And yet you know how to do this?" Watts asked him. Silence fell as Squall ceased his activities. Watts swallowed, wondering if he'd touched a nerve somewhere best left alone.

Finally Squall said quietly, "when you grow up with nothing and no one but yourself to rely on, you learn how to make do. If you want bread, you learn how to make it. If you want meat, you learn how to kill it. You learn how to use what you have in order to survive." He took the dough that he'd mixed and slammed it onto the counter, beginning to knead it.

"You grew up at Balamb Garden. You had regular meals, shelter. I'd hardly call that nothing." Watts observed.

"The principles of survival are the same, no matter where you are." Squall replied.

Watts started to respond then stopped, realizing that Squall was right. He hadn't gone to the extreme of learning how to bake, but he had worked out an exchange with his elderly neighbor, helping her and in turn, receiving help _from_ her. He did the heavy lifting and assisted her with things she could no longer do easily, and in return, she provided him with fresh eggs and a loaf of bread or two every once in awhile.

That sort of cooperative trade however was not something that Squall's nature lent him to pursue. So he took the other road, simply learning to produce what he wanted on his own, rather than having to interact with someone in order to achieve that same result. The fact that he was so fiercely self-sufficient made Watts think that if anyone _could_ solve the various problems that Timber faced, it would be Squall.

"We have a lot more in common than I thought." Watts said.

Squall looked up from the mound of dough he was working on, saying, "Perhaps."

"No, we do. We're both orphans, both had to learn to be self-sufficient in order to survive. And we both had to learn to fight for what we believe in…" Watts said, and then Squall interrupted him flatly, "I fight as a vocation. It's my job. I collect my pay and move on to the next assignment. You're the one who's fighting for what he believes in." Squall punched the dough roughly and Watts winced at the meaty smack that it made, like the fist was striking someone's face.

"And yet you're here. I know for a fact you aren't getting paid much for this." Watts said.

"My contract with Miss Heartilly stipulated that it remained in effect until Timber was liberated." Squall stated.

Watts frowned. He couldn't remember if Rinoa had told him and the rest of the Forest Owls the actual details of the contract or not. He certainly didn't remember _that_ clause.

"Is that all Rinoa is to you? A client? A contract?" Watts demanded, beginning to get angry. Mercenary or not, if the guy was just with Rinoa because she had hired him, Watts would do his best to take him apart, and it didn't matter much to him _how_ tough he was.

Silence.

"IS it? Goddamn you, answer me or so help me…" Watts growled, fists clenching.

"No." Squall answered softly.

"So you're here because…" Watts began, and Squall interjected, "I'm here because of the terms of the contract. _And_ because it's what Rinoa wants. I need to fulfill the terms of my hire so we can both move on with our lives without that hanging between us."

"You really don't believe in anything, do you?" Watts asked him, feeling faintly disappointed. He'd had a rather different impression of Squall, going by what he'd heard regarding the fight against Sorceress Edea, then Adel, and finally Ultimecia. Certainly, he seemed different from what Watts remembered of their first meeting on the Forest Owls' now defunct mobile base.

Then, he'd been cold, ruthlessly efficient and almost robotically unemotional. Not to mention downright rude and unfriendly, even to Rinoa. The weeks in her company since then had certainly served to humanize him, though he was still rude, cold and unfriendly to just about everyone else _but_ her.

Watts remembered the farewell he'd witnessed, how Squall's eyes had closed as his arms had tightened around Rinoa. How he'd held her with an almost desperate edge, and how reluctant he'd been to let her go. And finally, how he'd watched her leave, unable to hide the longing in his eyes. No, the mercenary wasn't an emotionless robot any longer.

Watts watched and waited, wondering if he'd pushed Squall into silence. The bread dough, now pummeled into submission, was set-aside with a towel over the top of it to rise.

It was while Squall was washing his hands that Watts asked him, "What _do_ you believe in, Leonhart?"

Squall dried his hands and answered, "Rinoa."

"Why?" Watts pressed. He had to know. He had to know if the young man standing before him actually had any real feelings for Rinoa or not. He was beginning to see that he did, but he needed to hear it from the mercenary's own lips before he believed it.

Silence again. This time, it stretched to the point that Watts wondered if Squall would even answer it. Perhaps it was not a question that the young mercenary was prepared to answer yet.

Then he met Watts' eyes briefly, the naked emotion there making Watts' heart hurt before he thankfully looked away and answered softly, hesitantly, "Because…I love her."  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dinner was completed roughly about an hour or so after that. Watts had no idea what the SeeD had done, but he'd somehow managed to turn rice and beans into something not only edible but actually palatable as well. And the smell of the bread that was baking….

Watts blinked away tears, recalling sun-washed memories of his mother baking bread for him and his father. It was ridiculous, really, that something like that should trigger such poignant recollections, but it was true. He found that he needed to go outside for a breath of fresh air.

When he returned, the bread was cooling on the counter and Squall was searching around for a container to put the remains of their dinner into.

"Here," He said, finding a bowl with a fitted lid that would suffice and handing it to Squall.

He took it without comment and filled it with the leftovers, put it away in the fridge, and started cleaning up the kitchen. It took Watts a moment to realize that the guy was actually doing the dishes as well as cooking, and it made him feel rather odd that his houseguest was performing such mundane domestic tasks. No comments, no complaints, he simply started washing the dishes and cleaning up the stove and countertop automatically.

After watching him for a moment or two, and feeling less and less comfortable about it, Watts finally grabbed a towel and said, "I'll dry." Squall simply glanced at him and nodded slightly.

They worked together in silence for several minutes before Squall finally said, "I've been thinking…"

"Always a dangerous proposition in these parts." Watts said, half-joking.

"For you maybe." Came Squall's deadpan comeback, surprising Watts into a laugh.

"You're right about that one. So, what were you thinking?" Watts asked him.

"Supplies. Solutions. Logistics. How many chocobos do you guys have?" Squall asked him, drying his hands and hanging up the towel, dishwashing completed. Watts put the dishes away as he dried them.

Watts frowned, "I dunno. Maybe about a half-dozen or so? Whatever shows up when we call them, basically."

"Hm." Squall grunted in an uninformative manner.

He glanced around; eyes narrowed, and finally said, "I'll be right back." He disappeared upstairs for a moment, returning with a laptop, paper and a pencil.

Seating himself at the dining room table, Squall began tapping away on the computer, making notations on the paper as he did.

"So? Why the question about the chocobos?" Watts prompted him.

"Supply lines are completely cut off…at least the normal routes are. No trains, which means no freight. But what about alternative modes?" Squall asked speculatively.

"You mean using chocobo caravans? Like in the old days?" Watts asked him.

Squall nodded, "Right."

"It could work. It'll take longer than shipping by train obviously, and we won't be able to transport as much," Watts said.

"Yeah, and we'd need personnel to protect the caravan, as well as traders or someone to negotiate for the goods we'd need to get in here." Squall said.

"And where would you be planning to send this caravan?" Watts asked, wondering himself.

"Not Deling City, obviously. No, it'll have to be either Dollet or Winhill." Squall frowned fiercely, asking, "Do you happen to have Internet here?"

Watts shook his head regretfully, answering, "No, sorry. Not in my neck of the woods."

"I'll have to get into the Timber Maniacs offices then. They're closed down but their computers should still have access to the wire services network." Squall said.

"Tonight?" Watts asked with a frown. It was well after dark. In fact, it was much later than Watts had thought it was when he checked.

"No, no late night skulks yet. No sense in taking an unnecessary risk at this point." Squall said.

"What about the orchard trip? We still doing that?" Watts asked him.

"Yes. It'll do in a pinch, and besides, its abandoned so there's no worry about having to negotiate a price." Squall said, adding, "for a bit of extra meat, I thought I'd bring a team with me hunting."

"Hunting? You'd have to kill a lot of critters to be able to feed everyone. Pretty ambitious." Watts commented.

"Well, every little bit helps. Besides, I'm not planning on hunting _small_ game." Squall said.

"That's pretty much all there is in these woods." Watts shrugged.

"Well, we'll have to go farther out. Maybe toward Obel Lake." Squall narrowed his eyes, then mumbled, "Wish there were t-rexaurs out there…"

Watts frowned, "T-rexaur? _Dinosaurs?_ You want to hunt a _dinosaur?_ " He stared at Squall, wondering if the SeeD had suddenly lost his mind.

Squall shrugged and said, "It'd be several tons of meat, enough to feed the whole town. But there aren't any on _this_ continent, as far as I know." Then he added under his breath, "unfortunately."

Watts shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around that concept. The man wanted to hunt, and _kill_ , a large, aggressive, prehistoric carnivore. With just a gunblade. Ambitious? Try _insane_.

"Um…have you ever…hunted one of those things before?" Watts asked him.

"Yes. Good combat practice." Squall answered.

Watts opened his mouth to reply, and found nothing to say. What does one say to someone who finds hunting dinosaurs good _combat practice_?

Yup. Definitely psycho.

"I'm….gonna go to bed now. Good night." Watts said, not bothering to wait for a response from Squall. _He'd_ already turned his attention back to his computer and the papers he was working on.

Squall vaguely noticed that Watts had gone upstairs, relieved not to have to talk to him any longer, and concentrated on his work. The sheer scope of this operation was daunting, but compared to saving the _entire world_ it was a cakewalk. Of course, it wouldn't be _easy_ , not by any means.

Squall knew that they had to meet everyone's immediate, basic needs first. So, the orchard trip. The planned hunt. The caravan idea. He wondered if there was any sort of underground, black market network set up. It would help with distribution of those supplies that they managed to get into Timber without catching the notice of the Galbadians. He made a note to ask about that the next time he talked with Zone.

He frowned at his laptop computer, frustrated. He needed to check his email, see if his contacts in Deling City had any news relevant to their situation. He also needed to check in with Garden to see if there was anything there that required his attention. First thing in the morning, he was going to see about getting into the Timber Maniacs offices and accessing their network. He'd have Selphie do a bit of hacking, if necessary.

One of the things that Squall was very interested in learning about was the movement of Galbadia's army. It would be very nice to know where they were so as to be better able to avoid them. Maybe he'd see if Selphie could hack into the garrison's network. If she could, they could obtain some very valuable information about the weapons, defenses and numbers of personnel that the garrison currently boasted. A blueprint of the garrison's layout would be highly valuable as well, if one could be obtained.

He hoped that Zone could get him the tally on the weapons, ammo, miscellaneous ordinance and materiel that they had to work with soon. The hunting trip for meat that Squall was planning actually had another purpose besides feeding everyone, though that was an important goal. Hunting monsters was a good way to obtain raw materials that could be refined into items or spells that would be very useful. If he knew what they were working with before he left, he'd have a better idea of what he should be hunting for.

Squall rubbed at his burning eyes, yawning, and checked his watch, surprised to find it was later than he'd thought. He might as well go to bed, his thoughts were rambling and incoherent by this point and he wasn't accomplishing anything useful. He shut down the laptop, took his notes and went upstairs to the room that Watts had given him.

As he undressed, he looked down at the single bed that he'd be sleeping alone in, wishing that Rinoa were there. It was silly; they'd only been separated for a few hours, and yet he felt her absence keenly. It was like all the light, life and joy that existed in the world was contained in her body, and she took it with her wherever she went. And even when her energetic exuberance annoyed him, he found that he much preferred being even annoyed by her than being without her entirely. He missed her.

He missed the warmth and scent of her body next to his, the sound of her breath, her heartbeat. Even if he didn't sleep well with her, the opportunity to watch her as she slept and hold her in his arms as he did was certainly a fair enough trade in his opinion. He sighed, closing his eyes and forcing his mind to settle down so he could sleep. They had plenty of work to do, all of them, and Squall for one couldn't wait to get started on it.

He freely acknowledged (to himself anyway) that the fact that Rinoa was staying in the house right next door to the Timber Maniacs building certainly played a part in his eagerness to go there in the morning.  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Okay," Selphie demanded, as she and Rinoa got ready for bed. "Spill it." She spat out the foam from brushing her teeth and rinsed her mouth, waiting.

"Spill what?" Rinoa asked, drying her hair. It felt sooo good to be clean again. In fact, the only thing that felt better was….

"You know what I'm talking about Rinoa. You spent two nights sleeping with Squall." Selphie said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Yeah? So?" Rinoa asked, pulling on a t-shirt to sleep in. She wrinkled her nose at the rest of her clothing, deciding to ask Vulpe if she and Selphie could use her washing machine.

"So? _So?_ Did anything happen?" Selphie asked her.

"What makes you think I'd answer that question if it did?" Rinoa asked her reasonably, climbing into the spare bed that she and Selphie were going to have to share.

"I dunno, 'cause we're friends and I'd really, really like to know?" Selphie responded, getting into the bed as well and turning the light off.

"Well, I'm sorry but I'm not going to tell you. It's none of your business and Squall for one would not appreciate my kissing and telling. It's private." Rinoa said firmly.

"Please? C'mon, he had to have tried _something!_ I know he's not gay and he _definitely_ has the hots for you…" Selphie pleaded.

"No Selphie. What business is it of yours anyway?" Rinoa demanded, annoyed at Selphie's prying.

"I just wanted to know how things are working out between you two. I mean, I care about you both, and I want you to be happy together. Besides, I really, really want to know." Selphie pleaded.

"So, you want to know if we had…" Rinoa frowned.

"Sex." Selphie replied, then asked, "So did you guys do the deed or not?"

"I'm not answering that question Selphie." Rinoa said flatly, then asked "What about Irvine? Aren't you two…?"

" _Him?_ To hear _him_ tell it, he's had every girl between here and Balamb. You think I want to be another notch on his bedpost?" Selphie asked her, nettled.

"But, don't you like him?" Rinoa asked her.

"Yes, I just… I want my first time with him to be special. If it even comes to that. We're not even actually _dating_. I mean, I won't deny that I really find him attractive, but I want it to mean something, you know? I don't want him to forget me and move on to the next conquest." Selphie said, crossing her arms over her chest and chewing at her lower lip. "I mean, even if he _hasn't_ had dozens of girls, he's certainly more experienced than I am. What if I'm not good enough? What if I bore him?"

"Well, if he cares about you, that won't matter." Rinoa reassured her.

"Yeah, maybe. But this isn't even about me. Didn't Squall try anything while you were sleeping together? I mean, he's a guy; he _had_ to have, right? _Please_ tell me he's not so repressed that he can't even behave like a normal male." Selphie pleaded.

"He's not." Rinoa reassured her. Then smacked her forehead in the darkness as she realized that she'd just confirmed Selphie's speculations.

"So…" Selphie began slowly, and Rinoa sighed, "Yes. Now can we go to sleep?"

"But…c'mon Rin! Details! I want details!" Selphie urged.

"What kind of details?" Rinoa asked her warily.

"You know…. was it good? Did you like it? Did _he_ like it? I mean, you guys were so quiet, if you _were_ doing anything I didn't hear it." Selphie asked her.

"Selphie? I'm not answering those questions. But I can see why Squall didn't want to do anything while we were in his _tent_." Rinoa responded, frowning.

"But..." Selphie began, and Rinoa cut her off, saying firmly, "Good night Selphie."

Silence fell, and Selphie's breathing steadied as she eventually fell asleep. But Rinoa lay still, staring into the darkness and missing Squall with every fiber of her being. She was more than a little annoyed at Selphie's indelicate questions. Not only because she was probing at something very private and special to Rinoa, something that she _knew_ Squall would not appreciate an open discussion about; but also because thinking about it made her miss him dreadfully.

Even though Squall had admitted being unable to actually sleep well with Rinoa in his bed, she selfishly wished that he were there anyway. She missed his arms around her, missed his warmth. And she missed their lovemaking with a keen ache. She desperately hoped that they would not have to be separated like this for the entire duration of this operation. If they were, she feared that she'd go mad.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Watts jerked awake at the smell that drifted up from the kitchen. _Could it be…?_ He jumped out of bed and raced downstairs to stare in shock at the sight of his houseguest seated at the dining room table, sipping calmly at a cup of coffee.

"You brought coffee with you? Oh, I could kiss you, but I'm pretty sure you'd kill me if I did." Watts said, staring at the glorious sight of a full pot of coffee sitting on his counter top.

"Yes. I would." Squall confirmed, taking another sip. Then he gestured with his head toward the pot, silently giving Watts permission to help himself.

"Oh, _bless_ you sir. You don't know _how_ long it's been since I've had a cup of coffee." Watts said, happily taking a sip once he'd poured a cup. He sighed and closed his eyes, savoring it. Now if he just had a bit of sugar and maybe some milk…

"I've got enough left for another pot and that's it until we get more." Squall told him. The empty plate in front of him indicated that he'd already eaten. He'd also put the black bandanna back on and had his backpack with his gunblade's hilt protruding from the top leaning against the table's leg near his feet. He was obviously ready to go to the Timber Maniacs offices.

"Well, thanks for this anyway. I'm gonna grab a quick shower and eat. After we help Gram with a few things, we'll head out." Watts said draining his cup and sighing happily once again before turning to head back up the stairs.

"Help who? And what do you mean, 'we'?" Squall asked, looking annoyed at the delay.

"Gram. My neighbor. The lady that gives me the eggs that you ate for breakfast this morning. We do some chores for her, we get some eggs, and maybe something from her garden or even a chicken if she decides her flock is too big." Watts explained, adding, "You don't have to help if you don't want to, but it'll get done faster if you do. Hence the 'we'."

"Fine." Squall said, glowering at him. "Get on with it then." Watts nodded and continued back upstairs to shower and dress.

It wasn't long before they both stood on the front porch of the house next door. Watts had gotten up at his usual time, which he thought was plenty early enough. Squall however looked as though he'd been up for _hours_. If he had, it was no wonder he looked so annoyed.

It was a slightly gray morning, with wind tearing the light gray clouds that threatened rain to shreds periodically, only to have them re-form and once again obscure the brilliant beams of sunlight that dueled with them. Watts wondered if Gram would need firewood in case it did rain.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door loudly. A muffled voice within called out, "That you junior?"

"Yeah Gram, it's me!" Watts called back.

The door opened a few moments later and a tiny, snow-haired elderly woman blinked her faded blue eyes at Watts and smiled sweetly, "Good morning junior! Right on time too." Catching sight of Squall, she asked, "Who's your skinny friend?"

"Uh… my cousin, Leon. From Balamb." Watts answered, prompting Squall to fold his arms over his chest and sigh.

The old lady squinted up at Squall and said, "Cousin, eh? Looks like a hoodlum. You mind yourself boy, or junior here'll put you in your place." Squall tilted his head, gazing steadily at Watts, his expression saying, _Really_?

"Ah... Gram? Is there anything that you need help with this morning besides the chickens?" Watts asked her, glancing uncomfortably at the set look on Squall's face.

"Looks like rain. Might need some wood chopped. Oh, and the garden needs weeding." She said, and opened the door widely, inviting them both in.

"We'll get right on it Gram." Watts assured her, leading Squall through the old lady's house and out the back door.

As they walked, Squall glanced over at him and said, "junior."

"Ah…yeah. She's always called me that." Watts said. Then he cleared his throat and changed the subject, asking, "Do you know how to chop wood?"

Squall folded his arms and glared at him, answering, "Yes. But why would she need it? It's _summer_."

"Timber's a higher elevation than Balamb or Deling City. It's part of why we have so many tall trees. It gets cold here at night, especially when it rains. And Gram doesn't have an electric heater. She says she likes her old wood stove better." Watts explained, leading him toward the woodpile and handing him a long-handled axe.

Squall simply grunted in reply, reached out a gloved hand and took the axe, resting it on his shoulder.

"At least you won't get blisters," Watts said, indicating the gloves. Squall didn't respond as he walked over to the woodpile and selected a log, placing it upright upon the stump.

Watts stepped back out of the way, gulping, as Squall raised the axe and brought it down upon the wood, splitting it neatly.

"I'll uh, just be over here, feeding the chickens and…stuff…" Watts said awkwardly, backing away at the fierce glare Squall shot his way before he split yet another log. With a single blow.

 _Holy crap. He must be strong as an ox!_ Watts thought as he headed toward the chicken coops with the rhythmic thunk and thwack sounds of wood being chopped following him. Come to think of it, the gunblade the SeeD wielded looked easily as heavy as the axe, if not more so, and was exactly the same length. Of course, that engendered disturbing visions of what the mercenary could do with that weapon in his hands, facing a human opponent rather than a chunk of wood. Another thwack sounded and Watts shuddered, thinking of appendages being severed from bodies.

The chickens were fed and eggs gathered, a satisfying double dozen of them, in no time, and Watts proudly brought them in for Gram.

"The hens are laying well Gram." Watts said, placing the eggs in a strainer in the sink and rinsing them before placing them in the carton the old lady gave him.

"Well, that's good. Although I may have to 'retire' a couple of my older hens; _they_ haven't been laying too well lately." The woman said, putting the eggs into the refrigerator.

"If you need help with that, let me know." Watts told her.

"All right. I will," She said, then glanced out the kitchen window to where Squall was still chopping wood. As the both the sun and his exertions had warmed him, Squall had taken his shirt off. The bunch and flex of lean muscle as he lifted the axe and swung it down was plain to see in the bright morning sunlight.

"My lands!" Gram said, placing her hand over her chest and laughing breathlessly. "He's certainly a wiry fellow, isn't he? Obviously a lot stronger than he looks. Quite the hottie too. I'll bet he's got a lot of girlfriends."

"Gram!" Watts exclaimed, shocked.

"Oh, relax boy!" the old woman laughed as she grabbed a glass and filled it with water. "I may be old, but I'm not dead yet. Even if I'm too old to do anything about it these days, I can still enjoy looking at a handsome young man." with that, she patted Watts on the arm and went outside to offer the glass of water to Squall.

He set the axe head downward on the ground, supporting the handle with one hand, and watched as the elderly homeowner left the kitchen and approached him, glass of water in hand.

Handing it to him, she said, "I think that's quite enough, dear boy. There's enough wood chopped now to keep me until fall at least." Squall nodded and drank the water down. Handing the empty glass back to her, he set the axe aside and picked up his shirt, preparing to put it on.

"Not real talkative, are you?" she asked him. Squall shrugged and put his shirt back on, wondering if they could finally get underway now that the chores that Watts had volunteered him to assist with were done.

"Well, you look the type to get mixed up with some of the doings here. Don't. It doesn't end well. Stay out of trouble." She warned him.

Squall studied her, wondering why she'd go out of her way to warn him. Elderly she may be, and so tiny even Rinoa would tower over her, but her blue eyes were keen, and contained shrewdness at odds with her grandmotherly appearance.

Finally Squall asked her, "Isn't that what hoodlums do? Get in trouble?"

The woman laughed softly, then her smile faded and she asked, "Why are you here?"

"Work." Squall answered carefully.

"Well, unless it's odd jobs you're after, you'd best continue on to Winhill. There's nothing for you here." the woman commented.

"Depends on the work." Squall said.

The old lady simply stared at him for a moment, then said softly, "Don't get my grandson killed." With that comment, she turned and went back into the house. Squall stared after her, frowning.

They left a few minutes later, with Watts carrying the eggs, some preserves and assorted vegetables from the old woman's garden that he helped weed. They stopped in at the house briefly so that Watts could put the items away and Squall could pick up his backpack, and then they left.

"So," Watts said as they made their way through the forest, "that was Gram."

"Your Grandmother." Squall said.

"Kind of. She claims me as her grandson anyway, but we're not related. She's got no one, really, and neither do I. So we sort of take care of each other." Watts explained.

"I see." Squall said, though he didn't really. The concept of _grandparents_ was as alien to him as the concept of _parents_ was. Adoptive or otherwise. And the taking care of each other business? Also not something Squall understood. Not completely anyway, though Rinoa was doing her best to teach him.

They lapsed into silence until they reached the outer edge of the newer part of Timber. Before they entered the town, Watts stopped and gazed critically at Squall with a frown on his face.

"What?" Squall asked, wondering why they'd stopped.

"Gram was right. You _do_ look like a hoodlum." Watts commented.

Squall folded his arms and glared at him. "Your point?" he asked.

"You look like trouble. The soldiers'll see that and I can guarantee they'll be all over you, especially if you give them any grief." Watts said, frowning.

"Well, I won't start anything, if that's what you're worried about." Squall said.

"No, but you _will_ finish it if something _gets_ started. I can tell that just by looking at you. And if _I_ can see that, they can too. If you just weren't so…." Watts trailed off, searching for the words to explain what he meant.

"What? So what?" Squall prompted him, getting impatient.

"I don't know…forbidding? Grim? Maybe if you smiled and acted more like an ordinary juvenile delinquent and less like a mercenary hired to overthrow the status quo…" Watts suggested.

Squall stared at him. "You want me to _smile_? On purpose?"

"Well, it couldn't hurt. Might make you look a little more normal. Give it a try, sir. I'm pretty sure your face won't crack." Watts urged him, smiling himself. Yeah, that was it. The guy never smiled, and smiles always put people off their guard. It was hard to feel threatened when someone was smiling at you.

Then Squall stretched his lips back and bared his teeth in an approximation of a smile, and Watts hastily revised that thought with a shudder. If anything, _that_ expression went well beyond threatening to actually terrifying.

"Okay. Forget that. You look like a serial killer. Just don't look anybody in the eye and keep your mouth shut." Watts said, still feeling a little creeped out by Squall's version of a smile. He sighed in relief when the feral expression on the mercenary's face faded back to his usual stone-faced façade.

"Come on," Watts said, gesturing for Squall to follow.

"Whatever." Squall said, walking into Timber on Watts' heels.


	11. Hearts and Minds

As he followed Watts through the town, Squall was on alert. Not obviously so, but still keenly aware of his surroundings and the people in them. "Situational Awareness" it was called. It was an observational trick all SeeDs were taught; gazing around without appearing to do so and marking any potential threats, escape routes, and anything else that may or may not require investigation later on.

In particular, he noted the soldiers, their attitudes, their locations, and gauged their threat level based upon what he observed. The citizens of Timber were given the same analytical treatment that the soldiers were. With the exception of those resistance members that Squall had been personally introduced to- and even _those_ he only partially trusted-everyone was treated to the same wary regard.

The soldiers had not changed appreciably since the last time Squall had been there, at least not that he noticed. They were still spit-polished stupid brutes, for the most part. Perhaps a tad more brutal than before, but not by much. Galbadia's military power was not due to the intelligence of its personnel, but rather their obedience. It was ridiculously easy to simply blindly follow orders and not bother attempting to think for oneself. In Galbadia's military at least, it was encouraged.

It made Squall wonder how, as obviously intelligent as Rinoa's father was, he'd managed not only to make a career out of his service to such an organization, but to even rise to the rank of general. Perhaps that was at the core of the current rift between father and daughter.

Perhaps, but the only way to find out for sure would be to ask Rinoa, and Squall decided that question was best left unasked.

Finally, they were walking toward their destination. Not the Timber Maniacs offices, though that was where they intended to go, but the house next door. Simply walking up to the closed offices in broad daylight under the watchful eyes of the Galbadians and then _breaking in_ would be incredibly stupid. No, they had to use a more cautious approach to gaining entrance to the building.

It was with that thought in mind that Squall was studying the exterior of the Timber Maniacs offices intently while Watts knocked on the door to the home. The middle-aged woman that Rinoa had identified as Vulpe, leader of the Forest Foxes, answered it.

Grinning widely, Watts doffed his cap and said, "Afternoon ma'am, my cousin and I were lookin' for any odd jobs that might need doin'. You got any handiwork you want done?"

Squall turned his attention from the Timber Maniacs building and focused on Watts, wondering if this was just a ruse for the benefit of any watchers that might be about, or if he was seriously offering their services as odd-jobbers.

The woman's eyes twinkled in amusement as she answered thoughtfully, "Well, now that you mention it, I could use my gutters cleaned."

Squall folded his arms and glowered at Watts, completely missing the spark of recognition in the woman's eyes when she focused on him for a moment. A muffled sound from the interior of the house caught his attention, and he was immediately on alert.

"Great!" Watts said, "We work cheap, and my cousin here's as strong as an ox."

"Well, come on in then boys, and we'll talk about it." the woman said, inviting them in.

As soon as they walked through the door and Vulpe closed it behind them, Squall discovered the source of the muffled noises he heard coming from the inside of the home. It was Rinoa, who had both hands clapped over her mouth and tears leaking from her eyes as she strove mightily to contain the laughter that snuck out between her fingers in muffled squeaks.

Once the door was closed, she dropped her hands and let it out, gasping, "Oh Watts! Oh….Whatever you do, don't turn around right now, because the look Squall's giving you will have you dead in a heartbeat!" Then she held her sides and laughed even harder.

Watts ducked his head, forcibly resisting the urge to do exactly that, confused as to why Rinoa found it so funny when nobody else was laughing but her. Everyone else's expressions ranged from wary to worry to mildly amused. The amusement belonged on Selphie's face. She had entered the room while Rinoa was laughing, and had no idea of the source of her mirth until she saw Squall's increasingly stony expression.

Squall for his part was both confused and annoyed, wondering why his girlfriend was laughing at him while everyone else appeared worried.

Then she came up to him, still laughing slightly, and slipped her arms around his waist, smiling up at him, and said, "I'm sorry, I guess you must have had a rough morning if your expression is any indication. It just struck me as funny the way you glared at Watts the minute Vulpe mentioned cleaning the gutters."

"Yeah, well I've already gotten volunteered to chop wood and I've been compared to an ox." Squall said, suddenly very aware of Rinoa's warm body pressing against him, her arms encircling his waist.

"Well, we both know that there _is_ no comparison. You bear no resemblance to an ox in any way, shape or form." Rinoa said, still smiling at him, brown eyes twinkling merrily. In spite of his somewhat sour mood, she was still incredibly happy to see him. And in spite of his mood, he didn't resist her embrace, instead slipping his arms around her as well. He appeared to have forgotten momentarily that he and Rinoa weren't alone.

"Glad you noticed." Squall said, dour expression beginning to lighten a bit in the face of Rinoa's obvious joy at seeing him.

"So…Squall… what brings you here? Aside from the obvious, that is." Vulpe said with a half-smile.

Forcibly pulling his attention away from Rinoa's lips, which Squall was dying to kiss again, he answered, "I need to get into the Timber Maniacs building, see if we can use their computers to do a bit of research." Glancing at Selphie, then back down at Rinoa, he added, "I'll need you both to come with me."

"You want me to do some hacking?" Selphie asked, eyes bright and interested.

Squall nodded, "Yeah."

"How do you propose we get _into_ the Timber Maniacs building in broad daylight with soldiers all around?" Watts asked, curious.

Squall frowned, "Not sure on that one, but Vulpe's mention of cleaning gutters gave me an idea. I'll have to check the window in the upstairs bedroom though."

"Be my guest," Vulpe said. Then she added, "I won't complain if you _do_ decide to clean out the gutters, you know, to keep your cover intact."

Squall glanced at her, then shrugged slightly and reluctantly pulled free from Rinoa, heading toward the upstairs bedroom. Watts, Rinoa and Selphie followed him.

"What are you planning on doing?" Watts asked him, hoping that Squall really wasn't going to do what he appeared to be considering.

Opening the window, and spearing the two young boys that were playing in the bedroom with a severe glance, Squall said, "Kids _, don't_ do this." Then he leaned out the window and looked around.

He saw directly below him the alley and the back door of the nearby pub. He saw the gate at the end of the alley, the route that he, Rinoa, Selphie and Zell had taken several weeks ago to get to the television studio in an abortive attempt to prevent disaster when Seifer had shown up and taken President Deling hostage.

A fire escape would have made things much easier, but he'd already seen the emergency rope ladder stashed between the bed and the wall near the window. So he was unsurprised at the lack of one. He leaned farther out, bracing himself against the window frame and studied the building above and on either side of the window. He narrowed his eyes. Okay, it would be tricky, and well nigh impossible for Rinoa and Watts to manage, but he and Selphie could.

Pulling himself back into the room, he dug through his pack and came up with a small grapnel and a thin cord. Digging deeper, he brought out a neatly wrapped coil of heavier rope.

"Selphie. You're smallest. You're going first." He said, tying the cord to the grapnel. Then returning to the window, he looked carefully right and left.

Satisfied that nobody was around to observe what they were doing, he leaned out, swinging the grapnel until it had enough length and momentum to arc upward and catch upon the edge of the rooftop. He tugged and jerked at it until he was satisfied it was secure, then ducked back into the room and handed the cord to Selphie.

While Squall had been readying the grapnel, Selphie had unwrapped and uncoiled the rope, recoiling it into a large loop that she threw over her head to wear bandolier style. When he re-entered the bedroom and handed the cord to her, she took it without a word and took his place at the window.

Watts and Rinoa stared, amazed, as they watched Selphie slip out the window and seemingly disappear. Moments later, the rope dropped down and Squall grabbed it, jerking it and leaning his full weight upon it to test it.

Then he paused, studying both Rinoa and Watts, and asked them both, "do you want to try this? We could use a couple of lookouts."

Watts shrugged, answering, "Sure. I'm pretty good with lock-picking too." Squall nodded.

"Rinoa?" He asked, focusing his attention upon her. She bit her lip, torn. She wanted to go with him, but at the same time, wasn't very confident in her rope climbing ability.

Finally she said, "I want to go with you, but…I'm not real sure I can climb a rope like that. I've never done it before and…" her voice trailed off.

"If you want to try it, I can wait here," he said.

"What if I fall?" she asked, biting her lip again.

"I'll catch you." He said softly.

She smiled at him, "are you sure?"

"Yes. I promise." He said seriously. When he used that solemn tone and looked at her so earnestly, Rinoa had to believe him.

"Okay. Um, how do I do this?" she asked, coming up to Squall and joining him at the window. It was a narrow space, and she had to stand so close to him that their bodies nearly touched. She could feel his warmth, drink in his scent and remember the taste of his lips, and found it hard to concentrate on what he was saying. All she wanted to do was to kiss him, feel his lips on hers, his arms around her again and press herself against him. He cleared his throat, and Rinoa smiled as she saw his attention on her lips. Obviously, his mind was running along similar lines.

Finally, he answered, "You uh… you just need to brace yourself against the wall with your legs and pull while walking up the wall." Then he leaned closer to her and added softly, "You don't have to do it if you don't want to."

"I want to." She said, feeling oddly confident now that he wasn't putting any pressure on her.

"All right then. Grab the rope and pull yourself up, hand over hand. I'll support you. Whatever you do, keep your focus _up_." Squall instructed, handing her the rope.

Rinoa nodded, taking a deep breath, and sat down on the windowsill. Then she started pulling at the rope, using it as leverage to stand on the sill. She felt Squall's hands at her waist, supporting her and she looked down at him and smiled.

Then she took a deep breath, firming up her courage. They'd climbed any number of steep ladders in various places, and Rinoa had even climbed up an ivy hedge to gain entrance to the ruined Trabia Garden. But she'd never had to actually climb a rope before. Still, the weeks she'd spent traveling and fighting alongside her SeeD friends had given her more strength than she realized. Either that, or she'd lost weight. Perhaps it was both. Whichever it was, Rinoa found that climbing the rope, despite her initial butterflies, was not nearly as impossible for her as she'd feared it would be.

That was not to say that it was _easy_ , not by any stretch of the imagination. She grunted and sweated, and tried hard not to think about the drop to the alley below as she pulled herself hand over hand to the edge of the roof. When she got there, she nearly panicked, because she couldn't figure out how to pull herself over the edge while she still had a death grip on the rope. She'd have to let go to grip the edge of the roof and pull herself onto it, and she didn't think she had it in her to do that. Then she made the mistake of looking down and couldn't stop a small whimper from escaping.

Selphie's head popped up over the edge at the sound, and her eyes widened. "Rinoa? Here, take my hand. Hurry."

Rinoa reached out with one hand while still gripping the rope, wondering as she did how Selphie, who was even smaller than she was, would be able to pull her up. Somehow, she did, and Rinoa lay flat on the roof with Selphie, panting and trying not to shake.

"Wow Rin! I'm impressed! I didn't think you'd want to do that!" Selphie said quietly. Rinoa frowned at that until she realized that Selphie was trying to stay as quiet as possible so as not to attract attention.

"Well, I wanted to come and help. Squall said he needed a couple of lookouts." Rinoa replied.

"Great!" Selphie said enthusiastically. Then she added, "as long as we stay quiet and out of sight, we shouldn't have any problems. I've noticed that the soldiers almost never look _up_."

Rinoa nodded. She'd noticed that herself when they were in the middle of their kidnapping attempt. Funny how she could run along the top of a train moving in excess of a hundred kilometers per hour without a flinch but climbing up a rope left her shaking.

"I'm really impressed that you climbed up that rope, Rin. I know you've never done it before. But why'd you even try? You're a sorceress. Couldn't you have just cast a float spell or something?" Selphie asked her. Rinoa stared at her, then lay back on the roof and started laughing.

She clapped her hand over her mouth to muffle the sounds, then took a deep breath and answered, "I didn't even think of that! Shows what kind of sorceress _I_ am…"

Selphie joined her, laughing quietly as well, saying, "Well, I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing, really. Might want to try that next time though."

"Sounds like a good idea." Rinoa said. Selphie nodded. They lapsed into silence, waiting for Squall and Watts to join them.

Squall leaned out the window to watch as Rinoa climbed to the roof. As she did, he glanced down and around, making sure they were still clear of any watchers. She glanced down as he watched, and he saw her grip tighten, her shoulders begin shaking and he heard a soft whimper. Squall tensed, gripping the window frame. He couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief when Selphie reached down and gave Rinoa a hand up onto the roof.

Watts, looking on, asked, "You really think you can catch her if she falls?"

"I've done it before," Squall answered, watching until he saw Rinoa reach the roof safely. Then he scanned the alley again. Finding it clear, he ducked back into the bedroom.

"Well, that's impressive sir, no doubt about it, but you were floating in outer space. There's _gravity_ here." Watts said.

Squall shrugged, "Doesn't matter. I promised I'd catch her if she fell. Anyway, she's made it safely."

Watts nodded. Squall's voice held a firm conviction that meant he'd do it too. Somehow, he'd find a way. It was fortunate however that his conviction had not been put to the test.

"And you always keep your promises, don't you commander?" Vulpe's teenage daughter spoke up from where she'd been watching the proceedings with rapt interest. She'd followed them up to her brothers' bedroom mainly to keep the boys out of the way and to make sure they were safe. Handsome or not, Rinoa's SeeD had a dangerous look to him that prompted her mother to pull her aside and ask her to look after the boys.

"It's Squall. I only make promises that I can keep." Squall stated. Turning his attention to Watts, Squall asked him, "You coming?"

Watts nodded, "Yeah. Information gathering with you around is bound to be _much_ more interesting now."

"Bye Watts, be safe." The girl said, cheeks pink.

Grinning lopsidedly at her, Watts gave her a quick hug and a peck on the cheek, saying, "I will. See ya later." Then he took the rope that Squall handed him.

Stepping aside to allow Watts room, Squall watched as he climbed out the window and up the rope nearly as easily as Selphie had. Apparently, the loose fitting, shapeless clothing Watts favored hid a body that was far more fit than it looked.

After checking the alleyway and the surrounding environs as much as possible for watchers and finding it clear, Squall finally took his turn climbing up the rope to the roof. He climbed quickly, hand over hand, and was reaching for the edge of the roof when another hand caught his and tugged, attempting to help him up. It surprised him, left him off balance for a moment before he readjusted the grip his other hand had upon the rope. When the hand gripping his didn't slip or waver, (and by the strength of the grip he figured it had to be Watts) Squall took a firmer hold of it and used it to leverage himself onto the edge of the roof.

Rolling over the edge and onto the roof itself, Squall raised himself to a crouch and started pulling the rope up quickly, coiling it neatly and leaving it where Selphie had anchored it.

Keeping both his voice and his body low, Squall said, "Okay, shouldn't be too hard to get over to the roof of the Timber Maniacs building. They're so close together they practically touch."

"I'll get us in. I'm pretty sure there's an access door or hatch or something. Most commercial buildings have them, you now, for maintenance and stuff." Watts said.

Squall nodded, and Selphie asked, "what if it's locked? Can you pick it?"

"I can if he can't." Squall said, then added for Rinoa's and Watts' benefit, "Let's go. Keep low, below the roofline if at all possible, and stay quiet. The less attention we attract, the better." Watts, peering along the edge of the roof, nodded in agreement.

Flicking leaves free from the gutters, he commented, "Take a look at these gutters, will ya? Vulpe wasn't kidding when she said they needed clearing out."

"If you want to clean them, fine. But _after_ we've gotten what we've come for." Squall said firmly, then headed toward the Timber Maniacs building, trusting Rinoa and the rest to follow.

It was a _very_ short step over to the next roof; the two buildings were practically adjoined. Watts took the lead, searching the area until he found what he was looking for: an access door, really a hatch, which presumably led into the attic.

They all gathered around it, with Squall and Selphie occasionally scanning their surroundings watchfully. While they waited, Watts pulled what appeared to be a wallet out of his pocket, opening it up to reveal several small tools neatly organized by size. Studying the lock with narrowed eyes, Watts carefully selected a pair of tools, then bent to the task of picking it.

It was accomplished with impressive speed and silence, and they all climbed through the now open hatchway one by one…into thick, musty darkness.

"I don't suppose anybody thought to bring a flashlight?" Selphie asked.

Squall growled a low curse under his breath when he realized that he hadn't.

"Um…" Rinoa spoke up tentatively. "Maybe I can…help? Let me try this…"

Light flared suddenly from the darkness, illuminating the attic space and showing everyone's varied expressions of surprise. Squall's eyes widened as he saw the source of the light.

It was a tiny ball of blue-white light that balanced in the air above Rinoa's hand. A barely audible buzzing noise, with occasional spits that resulted from brief flares that brightened the light, accompanied it. The color and brightness of the light washed out all color, making impossible to see the golden sheen that Rinoa's eyes had begun to glow with as she invoked her power.

She bit her lip, brows knitted as she concentrated on controlling the tiny ball of lightning. Edea had said that her power could take any shape or form that Rinoa's will wanted, she had only to concentrate. The stocked spells that she used along with the junctioned GF like the other SeeDs had given her the shape and the structure of the various spells available, and she had gradually found that she could wield her magic and cast those same spells without drawing from that stock.

The little ball of lightning, really just a pinprick, though bright enough to illuminate the attic, was based upon a weak Thundara spell. Rinoa had taken the shape, the feel of the lightning and compressed it into a tiny ball of light, forcing it into that shape by will alone.

"I've never seen that spell before." Watts said, awestruck.

"It's a Thundara spell. I've… modified it." Rinoa explained attention still focused upon the glowing ball of power in her hand.

"Awesome!" Selphie said, adding, "at least we won't have to worry about carrying around flashlights and stuff."

"Rinoa," Squall said, beckoning her over. "Hold the light up higher."

"Okay." She said, coming up to stand beside him.

She raised her hand as he requested and was satisfied at the amount of illumination that it provided. There was more than enough light now for them to traverse the attic safely. Squall led them across the dusty, cobwebbed space, stepping carefully upon the crossbeams and avoiding the fluffy layers of insulation in between.

Rinoa walked carefully beside Squall, attention divided on maintaining and controlling the lightning, and walking on the crossbeams. Not as easy as one might surmise, what with the level of concentration needed to keep the light steady and not let it flicker. So it was no surprise that her foot slipped as she stepped onto one of the beams, causing her to waver and the light to flicker as her concentration was likewise impacted.

Squall reached a hand out and took her arm, steadying her. She took a deep breath and firmed up her will. The light brightened in response, and they continued on. She had felt somewhat disappointed at Squall's lack of reaction to her light spell; _she_ was pretty proud that she'd figured out how to do that. But he did nothing beyond a surprised widening of his eyes, and made no comment beyond directing her to hold her hand up.

But she couldn't deny that his gentle yet firm support, the warmth of his hand, the fact that she had regained her balance and yet he still held onto her, told her more than his words could anyway. She smiled privately as his thumb, perhaps without his even realizing it, caressed the sensitive underside of her arm.

They found the hatch leading into the building itself shortly after that, and they carefully climbed down, ending up in one of the offices. They gazed around at the scattered papers and general disarray, the condition of the office a telling reminder of why it was empty in the first place. They spoke in hushed tones, the utter silence of the place so profound, that it seemed to demand respect.

"Is there power?" Squall asked Watts.

Watts nodded, "there should be."

They searched the office for a moment, Squall frowning at the smashed computer terminal left on the floor by the desk, and left to see if the other offices were in a similar case. It wouldn't do to take such a risk in breaking into the Timber Maniacs building only to find all of their computers unusable.

They ended up in the large room that Squall had visited once before, where he'd spoken briefly with the editor of the magazine. Sunlight illuminated the edges of the closed blinds, leaving the room in gloom speared by bars of blinding light. It too was in disarray, but not nearly as bad as the other offices had been, and the computer that sat at one end of a long table that was piled high with books, papers and magazines, was fortunately intact.

"Selphie?" Squall asked, nodding at the computer. She immediately sat down in front of it and turned it on, everyone breathing a sigh of relief when the machine booted up with a soft 'beep'.

Meanwhile, Squall positioned himself at one edge of the window behind her, peering through the spaces between the blinds to watch for any soldiers. As long as no one did anything that would give their presence away, Squall didn't think they had much to worry about.

Turning his attention to Watts and Rinoa, Squall gestured toward the opposite wall and said, "Watts check that window. Rinoa, the one opposite." They both nodded and retreated to their assigned posts.

"So, what are you looking for Squall?" Selphie asked him as she tapped away on the keyboard.

"Well, first and foremost, do we have network access?" he asked in return.

"We do. I've got the Balamb Garden network up right now." Selphie answered him.

"Good. If you'll take my place here for a few minutes Selphie, I need to check my email and see if there's any news relevant to us." Squall said.

"Okay," Selphie said, getting up and taking Squall's place at the window while he sat down and logged into the secure server at Balamb.

He spent the next few minutes skimming through his email, answering some briefly and ignoring others. A report from a SeeD undercover in Deling City proved interesting, and Squall filed the information in the back of his mind for future reference. Then he sent a request for some additional information, informing the contact that his email availability was limited.

Finally finished with what he needed to do, he turned to Selphie and said, "Your turn. Try and hack into the garrison's network if you can. Any information you can get us on troop strength and movement, supplies, ordnance, and so on, would be valuable. Also, if possible, a blueprint of the place would be very helpful."

"I'll see what I can do," she said, trading places with him once again.

* * *

It took several hours; hacking was not an exercise for the impatient. In the end however, they got what they needed, even down to a scanned layout of the garrison. Not a blueprint, unfortunately, but it would serve just as well.

The entire time they'd been there, though soldiers had been in evidence, none had noticed anything worth investigating, a fact that relieved everyone present. Making their way back to Vulpe's house was accomplished with the same level of caution as the trip out, with Squall bringing up the rear. He had the unenviable task of retrieving the grapnel and the rope they'd used, bringing it with him as he carefully free-climbed down the face of the home to the window.

Rinoa's eyes widened as she saw the rope go slack, and quickly stuck her head out the window and stared as Squall carefully hunted for hand and footholds in the rough granite blocks that made up the home. She quickly ducked out of the way when he reached the window, heaving a sigh of relief when he swung in and landed on the floor with a solid thump, panting.

"Why didn't you use the rope?" she asked him, heart still pounding just from watching him do what she would have sworn was impossible.

"And leave it hanging from the roof? It would attract attention and look suspicious, and the one thing that I don't want is for this house to be _noticed_. The last thing anyone needs is a curious soldier wondering why there's a rope hanging from the roof of the pub owner's house." Squall explained, carefully coiling the rope until it was back in the same neat bundle that it had been when he had arrived and stuffing it into his pack.

"So now what? What's next?" Watts asked.

"Well, we need to meet with Zone and Zell as soon as possible. With this information we gathered, I could help Zell plan his trip back to the orchard. We can also start planning our hunting trip." Squall answered.

"Hunting trip?" Rinoa asked, curious.

"Yes. Going back to the orchard will help but we need meat too." Squall said.

"Why don't we all head back to my place and we'll discuss it there?" Watts suggested.

"Fine. You go get Zone and Zell and I'll head back to your place with Selphie and Rinoa." Squall said.

"All right then, meet ya there sir." Watts said with a mock salute and a wink. Squall rolled his eyes and they left the upstairs room.

As they were leaving the house, Watts told Vulpe, "You had a blockage in your downspout. I cleared it out. The rest of the gutters should be okay."

The woman laughed, "Really? I was actually kidding about that! But thanks anyway Watts, you are a dear!" She kissed him on the cheek, then she added, "Rinoa, Selphie, remember to try and get back before sundown. If you can't, stay put."

Both Selphie and Rinoa nodded, with Rinoa saying, "We will, thank you."

"See ya later, Rose," Watts grinned at her, and she waved shyly as he left with Squall, Rinoa and Selphie.

They parted company with Watts as they reached the main square, with Squall leading Rinoa and Selphie in the direction of the forest and Watts' house, while Watts headed toward Zone's house.

As they walked they paid close attention to what the soldiers were doing, but so far none of them seemed to find anything about Squall or his companions to be at all suspicious. Still, they all stayed alert. Rinoa glanced over at Squall as they walked, wishing she could reach out and grab his hand and knowing that while they were walking through Timber with soldiers all around them, she couldn't. He needed his hand free to draw his gunblade, should he need to.

It had felt good to see him, hear his voice, and feel his arms around her, if only briefly. She had wanted to lean into his warm body and simply stay there, smelling his scent, listening to his heartbeat. Feeling his hands at her waist in the window had conjured up memories of _other_ times he'd held her like that, times that had been infinitely more pleasurable. She had been tempted, while they were watching out for danger that never materialized, to drag him into one of the empty offices, lock the door, and ravish him on the desk. Or the floor…or hell, up against the wall again.

Even now, thinking about it made her more than a little…randy. If they ever went into the Timber Maniacs building again regardless of the reason or possible danger that might be about, she resolved to do exactly that. She smiled to herself, thinking that Squall had no idea what sort of monster he'd created. She had definitely developed a taste, or rather; a _craving_ for what they did together and sincerely hoped that they could find an opportunity to satisfy that craving. Soon.

They left Timber eventually and entered the forest, following a trail that Squall seemed familiar with. While still watchful, they did relax their vigilance enough to actually talk to each other. With Selphie of course, taking the lead.

"Looks like it might rain later." She commented.

Squall glanced at the sky and said, "It might. If it does, Watts won't have a problem with letting you two stay there."

"And I'm sure _you_ won't object to having Rinoa stay with you tonight, right?" Selphie smiled at him. She almost laughed at the odd expression that flitted across his features for a moment as he gazed at her, momentarily at a loss as to how he should respond to that statement.

Finally he shrugged and opted for the truth, saying simply, "No." It wasn't as though Selphie was unaware of his and Rinoa's relationship. It would be pointless to deny it. Not to mention untrue, and possibly even hurtful to Rinoa. To avoid that, he'd endure a little embarrassment.

He glanced down at Rinoa and was struck by the radiant smile she gave him for that response. His heart thumped painfully and the thought jumped into his head that he'd willingly endure physical torture again for her sake if it meant that she'd smile like that for him. It had been incredibly hard for him to focus on what they were doing earlier. He kept thinking of her scent, the feel of her warm body under his hands, the taste of her lips and they way she felt under him… he wanted her so badly he couldn't think straight.

That thought however cooled him. Losing focus like that could get not only _him_ killed but also her and everyone else that was involved with this mission as well. The obvious solution to that dilemma of course was to simply do what they both wanted and get it out of their systems. But Squall wasn't too sure he'd _get_ that desire out of his system, nor did he want to. Besides that, there was the fact that they really didn't have anyplace private enough to indulge themselves in that way anyhow. It was a frustrating truth that left him half-mad with sheer, pent-up lust.

If Rinoa _did_ end up spending the night with him at Watts' house, in his bed there…. he was at the point where he really didn't give a shit _who_ heard them. He was going to do his damndest to exhaust both her _and_ himself tonight. Then a thought struck him: Selphie. _She_ would be there also. He pondered that for a moment and decided he was beyond caring even if she sat and watched, bag of popcorn in hand and notepad handy. The image conjured from that thought however, _did_ make him shudder. Okay, maybe he wasn't _that_ far gone. Pretty damn close though.

They were walking toward Watts' house when his elderly neighbor, who'd been taking in the warm sun on her front porch with a glass of water in hand, spotted them.

"Well, good afternoon boy. Where've you been off to? And where's Watts?" She asked him, rocking chair creaking quietly.

"Cleaning gutters for a friend. Watts'll be along soon." Squall answered her.

The old lady squinted for a moment at the three of them, then laughed quietly, "I knew you'd have plenty of girlfriends." Directing her attention to Selphie and Rinoa, she asked, "You two don't mind sharing him?"

Squall blinked, surprised, and felt his cheeks heating up at the implication embedded in that question. Selphie and Rinoa, catching sight of his pink cheeks, exchanged a speaking glance (and how did girls _do_ that anyway?), mutually deciding to play along.

Selphie leaned into him on one side, sliding her arm around his waist, while Rinoa did the same on the other side, saying, "No, we don't mind at all, do we Selphie?" Squall gulped, looking down at the two of them, and wondering: were they serious? He couldn't tell, and wasn't sure if that was a bad or a good thing.

The old lady laughed harder at seeing his reaction, and said, "Boy, I think you've bitten off more than you can chew with these two."

Squall privately agreed, but couldn't formulate a response beyond simply nodding slightly. Rinoa and Selphie both giggled and snuggled closer while Gram simply laughed. _Now_ what the hell was he supposed to do?

Seeing Squall's discomfited expression, Gram finally decided to take pity on him and said, "Well, since you and your girlfriends are here, why don't you come on inside? I could always use a tall young fella like you to help me reach the top shelf in my pantry and such. Besides, I made way more cookies than I can ever eat myself." With that invitation, the quiet creaking of the rocking chair ceased. The old lady got up and crossed the porch to the door, opening it wide and gesturing for Squall and the two girls to follow her inside.

After they'd entered the home, Squall hung back and let Gram lead them into her home, taking the opportunity to hiss quietly to both girls, "What the hell are you two doing?"

Rinoa laughed quietly and whispered, "Oh, relax Squall! We're just playing!"

Glaring down at them both, Squall hissed back, "Well, _stop_."

Selphie giggled, muffling it with her hand before saying, "Oh, come on! Live a little Squall!"

"Give me a break," he growled.

Rinoa pulled closer to him, pressing herself into his warmth, and looked up until she was nearly close enough to kiss him, whispering, "that's what we're trying to do."

Squall stared down into her upturned face, his attention suddenly caught by her lips. They were close enough that he felt the warmth of her breath on his face. So close he only needed to bend down, just a little bit, and he'd be able to taste them. Whatever it was he'd intended to say in response to Rinoa's comment died on his tongue, driven away by his sudden craving to kiss the hell out of her. Just a little closer….

"Boy? Where'd you get to?" Gram's voice brought him back to reality, and Squall shook himself, taking a deep breath; reluctantly turning his attention away from Rinoa and back to the elderly woman who waited for them with a knowing smile on her face.

"You three can play your games later. Girls, if you'll help me in the kitchen, I'll make it worth your while." Turning her attention to Squall, Gram added, "As for you boy, I've got just the thing to cool your blood."

"What? More wood chopping?" Squall grumbled, folding his arms tightly across his chest.

Gram snorted, unimpressed with his fierce glower, and said, "Nope. You ever kill a chicken?"

Squall pondered that question for a moment. He'd killed lots of things, but realized that chickens weren't on the list. Finally, he shook his head "no" in answer to her question.

"Well, you're going to learn." Gram answered. Squall sighed.

* * *

When Watts arrived some time later with Zone and Zell in tow, he found Rinoa and Selphie seated at his dining room table with Gram, snacking on cookies while something absolutely mouth-watering simmered on the stove. Squall was nowhere in evidence, a fact that left Watts puzzled momentarily until he heard the door to the upstairs bathroom open and close.

"Well, more friends? You having a get-together junior?" Gram asked him.

"Kind of. I see you've met Selphie and Rinoa." Watts said.

"Leon's girlfriends? I've met 'em. Quite the lover, that boy, though I'm not sure he's cut out for this kind of thing. Looked a little squirrelly awhile ago." Gram said.

Rinoa and Selphie exchanged a puzzled glance at the mention of "Leon", and Zell almost blew Squall's cover away when he asked, "Leon? Who the hell's Leon? I thought Sq…"

Watts interrupted him quickly, saying, " _Leon_ is my cousin from Balamb, remember? I told you about him." He gave Selphie and Rinoa a warning glance. Rinoa's eyes widened and she nodded slightly.

Zell frowned in puzzlement, saying, "I don't remember hearing anything about a _Leon…"_

"That's because you never _pay attention_ Dincht." Squall's voice came from the direction of the stairs.

Zell snapped his head around to focus on Squall. The severe expression on his face coupled with the dangerous glint in his eye clued Zell in and he finally caught on.

"Ohhhh…. _I_ remember now. _Leon_! That's right. Hey Leon, good to see ya. How was the trip from Balamb?" Zell said, grinning brilliantly at him.

Squall continued down the stairs and walked up to Zell, placing his hand companionably upon the shorter boy's shoulder and squeezing. _Hard_. As muscular as Zell's shoulders and arms were, Squall wasn't sure he'd make much of an impression, but apparently he managed to get his point across when Zell snapped his mouth shut.

"Uneventful." Squall said, answering Zell's question and releasing him to continue into the dining room.

"Feel better?" Rinoa asked him, eyes twinkling. If both Gram and Selphie hadn't been there, she'd have been in the shower with Squall…at least until the hot water ran out. Squall looked good to her no matter what, but seeing him freshly showered, hair still damp, and attired in a clean white tee shirt and jeans that did nothing to hide his lean, muscular body, made her mouth (among other things) begin to water.

"Much," Squall answered her.

"You clean up nicely too. Never know what a mess you'd been just awhile ago, what with the blood, guts and feathers you had all over you." Gram said, grinning.

"Blood, guts and feathers? What've you been up to, Leon?" Zell asked, puzzled.

"You decided on chicken for dinner tonight Gram?" Watts asked the old lady, and she smiled at him.

"Yes. You weren't around but your cousin was, so I figured he'd do just as well to help me with that. Turns out that aside from being a little fussy about the mess, he's actually quite good at killing chickens. Didn't even flinch on the first one." Gram answered.

"I've hunted before." Squall said mildly, shrugging.

"I take it that whatever's in the stewpot's your doing then?" Watts asked Squall.

Squall shook his head, answering, "I just killed, plucked and gutted the bird. Your Gram did the rest."

Watts approached the old lady then and smiled at her, "and you made cookies to boot. You spoil me Gram."

"Don't let it go to your head, junior." Gram said, adding, "Best get after them cookies if you want any. Your friends'll beat you to it if you don't." Watts glanced over to Zone and Zell, and snorted inwardly at how Zell's attention was riveted on the plate of cookies.

She pushed back from the table, preparing to stand. Watts immediately reached down and took her hands, helping her to her feet.

"I'd better be going. I've got my own bird to toss into the stewpot. You kids have a good night and enjoy your dinner. Mind the bones. I got as many of 'em as I could, but my old eyes ain't what they used to be." Gram said, heading toward the door and letting herself out.

After she'd left, Watts entered the kitchen and got himself a bowl, saying, "Well, it looks like soup's on. If you want any, help yourself." Filling the bowl and grabbing a slice of the bread Squall had made the night before, he returned to the dining room and sat down. Seeing the rapidly dwindling number of cookies on the plate, he quickly appropriated a few for himself. Zone, Rinoa and the SeeDs followed suit, and soon they were all seated.

"I'm guessing you have some information for us, right Squall?" Zone asked him, spooning up some broth from his soup.

"Yes. One of my contacts in Deling City tells me that General Caraway's finally gained control of the military and is starting to get things calmed down in the city itself. It won't be long before he starts to pay attention to his outlying garrisons to consolidate his power base. What that means for us, I don't know. At worst, it'll mean reinforcements and re-supply of the garrison. At best, a total recall of the troops here." Squall said. Rinoa seated next to him, swallowed, wondering which it would be. She appreciated his discretion in not even glancing toward her, even though he was talking about her father.

"Any ideas of which it would be?" Zone asked him.

Squall shook his head, answering, "none. Not yet anyway."

"What else have you got for us?" Watts asked him.

"Well, Selphie managed to get into the garrison's database, and we've got some very valuable data. We can make some solid plans with this." Squall said.

Rinoa reached over and laid her had on his arm, eyes shining, and said, "Really? So you got the patrol schedules?"

"Among other things, yes." Squall answered her. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out some folded papers, saying, "Selphie managed to get this printed out for us. We've got a layout of the garrison along with the patrol schedules and routes."

He unfolded and smoothed out the pages, pushing them toward the center of the table to allow everyone to pass them around and have a look at them. The pages ended up back in the center of the table as they continued to eat…and think about their options.

"This is very helpful," Zone commented, adding, "We know enough of the layout to be able to raid their stores and ammo storage, but knowing routes in and out and where the barracks are is very important. It'll make planning a raid a lot easier, if that's what we end up doing."

"Maybe later, if necessary. We want to leave them alone for awhile." Squall said.

"Yeah, maybe they'll think we've given up or something." Rinoa said. Squall nodded.

"So were just focusing on sending the group out to the orchard, right?" Zell asked him.

"Yes. That and a hunting trip I want to take out near Obel Lake. See if we can't get some big game to bring back." Squall answered.

"Who do you want to send out?" Zone asked him.

"You know your people better than I do Zone, so you tell me. I'm putting Zell in charge of that trip, so you can work with him on the group that's going. Selphie's going with him as well. I'm leading the hunting trip, and Rinoa's coming along." Squall said.

"I think some of the Gyrfalcons might be helpful with that; Shrike and Kestrel in particular." Watts commented. Zone nodded in agreement.

Squall narrowed his eyes, recalling what he'd learned about the resistance members. If he remembered correctly, Kestrel and Shrike were considered to be the best marksmen of anyone in any of the resistance groups. And their woodcraft was beyond compare.

"You and Zone come too. And if you think of anyone else that might be helpful, bring them along." Squall said.

Zone swallowed and exchanged a look with Watts, who shrugged. After hesitating a moment, he nodded silently in agreement, trying to ignore the ache that began flaring up in his midsection again.

"When do you want to leave?" Zone asked him, fighting down his anxiety. He'd be damned if he'd show weakness again in front of the SeeD. He'd rather die first. He refused to consider the fact that with an ulcer as bad as his appeared to be, that was a real possibility.

"I want Zell and Selphie to leave as soon as possible. Tomorrow or the day after; and I want to go off on the hunting trip as soon as we can get everything together as well." Squall said. Finishing his dinner, he took his bowl into the kitchen and placed into the sink.

Returning to the table, he asked, "Do you have a map Watts? I have one on my laptop, but I need something I can spread out and look at to plot out our routes."

"Yeah, I do. I'll be right back." Watts said, getting up from the table. He returned a few moments later with a rolled sheet of paper. Everyone obligingly moved bowls and plates aside, some getting up to put their emptied bowls into the sink.

Squall plotted out the route for the trip back to the orchard for Zell and Selphie while everyone else looked on with interest. Then he added the G-army's patrol routes.

"From what it looks like here," He said, frowning down at the map, "they mainly stick to the roads. So if you and Selphie go overland, you should avoid them altogether. For the hunting trip, we're going to take this route toward the lake." Squall marked out the direction he was considering.

Zone nodded, then looked over at Zell and said, "When you're ready to go, wait at the rally point. I'll meet you there with the rest of the group you're taking with you."

"Alright. Day after tomorrow, I'll meet you there." Zell confirmed. Selphie nodded.

Focusing his attention on Zone, Squall asked him, "Do you have any black market contacts? Someone that can help distribute what we bring in without attracting notice?"

Zone snorted at that question, saying, "Pretty much anyone in business here is. They've pretty much had to be in order to stay in business. So far, the Galbadians haven't caught on."

"So you're pretty confident you can get whatever food and supplies we manage to get in spread around pretty well?" Squall asked him.

"Yeah. What are you planning on bringing back besides the fruit and whatever meat you catch?" Zone asked him.

"So far, just that. But later on I want to see if we can get some caravans going for some actual trading. Underground or not, we need to get trade restarted as best we can, whether the Galbadians like it or not." Squall said.

"Where would you want these caravans to go?" Zone asked him, peering at the map. Not counting Deling City, there weren't many options.

"Dollet. Besides Deling City it's the closest seaport. You can get pretty much anything you want there. And it's within close proximity to Balamb, which has obvious advantages on our end." Squall answered.

"It's a long way to Dollet from here. Winhill's closer." Zone observed.

Squall nodded, "We can go to Winhill if the route to Dollet looks too risky, but they won't offer as much in the way of trade."

"Ambitious." Zone said.

"Perhaps. But I don't plan on spending the next seventeen years of my life fucking around with this." Squall said, eyeing him coolly. Zone cleared his throat, glancing away uncomfortably from Squall's steady gaze.

Switching his attention back and forth from Zone to Squall, Watts asked, "When do you plan on doing this? It'll take some time to set that up."

"I'm aware of that. We're going to need a list and some actual traders to come along, not to mention as many chocobos as we can get our hands on. And my team and I will have to go along to protect the caravan. It'll be impossible for the Galbadians _not_ to notice it." Squall said.

Rinoa bit her lip, suddenly feeling superfluous. Automatically, Squall had taken over and laid out his plans to help Timber, and Rinoa couldn't help but be impressed. But at the same time, she felt inadequate, and keenly aware that she was a rank amateur compared to him. She knew he didn't mean to simply leave her out of things; he would have included her if she'd spoken up. But the problem was, she really didn't feel as though she could contribute anything worthwhile to the plans as they were shaping up.

"Rinoa?" Squall's voice brought her attention back to him, and he asked her, "How are you with defensive magic?"

Frowning, she answered, "I don't know, we've mostly been using offensive spells like meltdown, ultima, meteor and the like. I'm not even sure how much protection magic I've got."

"You shouldn't have to worry about that. You don't need to store spells anymore, remember?" Squall reminded her.

"What do you mean, she doesn't need to store spells anymore? Doesn't everyone that uses the GF's like you guys have to?" Zone asked, frowning.

"I still need them Squall, at least until I get more familiar with how they feel, and how to shape them." Rinoa said.

"What are you two talking about?" Watts asked.

Selphie and Zell exchanged a glance, and Rinoa swallowed and reached her hand out toward Squall's seeking his support and reassurance as she told her two closest friends that she was a sorceress.

"After the battle with Edea, you guys know I was in a coma for a time. Nobody knew why until Squall took me to Esthar. What we figured happened was this: when Squall dealt a mortal blow to Edea, it drove Ultimecia, the sorceress who possessed her, out. Edea, like all sorceresses, had to release her power before she could die, and so she did. Ultimecia took it with her when she sought another host, another sorceress to posses in this time to achieve her aim. She wanted Adel, but she needed someone to get her to Esthar. Edea's power found me, and Ultimecia came with it." Rinoa explained.

Zone and Watts both stared at her, with Zone saying slowly, "So, you're a…"

"I'm a sorceress." She confirmed.

"But, Edea's still alive. How…?" Watts asked, voice trailing off in confusion.

"When she released her power and Ultimecia left her, she managed to cast one last spell to heal herself. But she's not a sorceress anymore. Whatever power remains to her is minimal at best." Squall said.

"I don't understand. How does this relate to why you were in a coma all that time?" Zone asked, beginning to worry. Did Rinoa _not_ know that the SeeD she was currently in love with was trained to kill sorceresses? He'd learned that from the White SeeDs, who were even more fanatical about eradicating them than the Balamb SeeDs he'd met. What would happen if her pet SeeD received an order to kill _her_?

"I'm not sure myself, but we think it was because I'm a lot older than most girls chosen to receive the power from a dying sorceress. Plus, Ultimecia needed control of me. But I was fighting her, and fighting the power at the same time, and it caused my body to shut down. Finally she…locked me away somehow…so she could take over. She didn't release me until she had no further use for me." Rinoa answered. Squall frowned over at her. She'd never spoken of what she had experienced after Edea had released her power and Ultimecia had taken over. Squall hadn't asked for any details beyond assuring himself and her that she was free from any echoes of Ultimecia's control.

What would it feel like, to be imprisoned within your own mind, powerless to control what your body said or did? Squall gave Rinoa's hand a gentle squeeze, and she smiled at him.

Zone sighed, watching them. He knew what had happened once Ultimecia abandoned Rinoa, they didn't need to reiterate it. It didn't make him feel any better to know that the SeeD who'd rescued her may well be the one ordered to kill her.

Clearing his throat, he said, "So, the result of all of that is the fact that you're a sorceress now."

"It's not common knowledge outside of Esthar. We'd like to keep it that way as long as possible." Squall said, spearing both Watts and Zone with a level look that said clearly that he meant business.

"Yeah, okay. No problem. Do you seriously think that I'd open my mouth and make Rinoa a target?" Zone challenged.

"I don't know you well enough to judge." Squall replied coolly.

"Yeah? And how do I know you're actually on our side when your loyalties are bought and paid for like any whore?" Zone demanded, voice rising. Rinoa gasped, looking wildly from Squall to Zone and back.

"Zone..." Watts began, shooting an uneasy glance toward Squall, whose face had gone as blank and rigid as carved ice. Zell and Selphie both had gone quiet, though Zell's face had begun to take on a red cast as Zone's attack on Squall had angered him.

"You don't." Squall said flatly. "But our contract is with Rinoa, on the behalf of the Forest Owls. We _will_ see that contract through to its end."

"Its what SeeDs do. We don't turn on our employers, and we don't abandon our contracts." Zell said, glaring at Zone, arms folded tightly across his chest. Selphie nodded in agreement, green eyes suddenly as hard and cold as her commander's.

Zone studied the SeeDs in silence, then finally speared his finger at Squall and growled, "If anything happens to Rinoa I will hold you personally responsible. And I _will_ kill you this time. Somehow, I'll find a way. Count on it."

"You had your shot and didn't follow through. I don't give second chances." Squall replied calmly. Zone swallowed, guts churning painfully. As he'd suspected, Squall had _let_ him land that punch on the White SeeD ship. Then he decided it didn't matter. Badass SeeD or not, not even Squall was immortal, invulnerable. It wasn't impossible to kill him. Just very, very difficult.

"Guys? Can we focus on what we're actually here for?" Watts said, trying to calm the tense atmosphere and bring everyone back to the current topic.

"I think we're done." Zone said, eyes still locked with Squall's. Then he shifted his focus toward Watts, saying, "We know what we're doing and when. We know when and where to meet. I'll get the word out and start getting volunteers for Zell's team and the hunting trip. It's getting late. Zell, the girls and I have to leave now if we're going to beat the curfew."

Zone stood then, glancing over to Zell, Selphie and Rinoa, who all three remained seated. Zell met Squall's eyes, and he nodded slightly. Zell and Selphie also stood then and got ready to leave. Rinoa however, remained seated.

"Rinoa?" Zone asked her.

"I'm not going with you. I'm staying here," she said firmly. Squall met her gaze, heart suddenly leaping for joy within his chest. Her hand was still curled warmly about his and he looked down and studied their joined hands, suddenly worried that his tension had caused him to grip her hand too tightly. He took a deep breath and let it out, willing his body to relax and loosened his grip, hoping that he hadn't hurt her.

"Sorry," he whispered to her. She smiled at him then and squeezed his hand firmly in response.

"Rinoa," Zone said then, face darkening into a scowl. "I don't think…"

Rinoa cut him off, saying, "Tell Vulpe thank you for her hospitality, but I'm staying here. Watts has more room; it's just him and Squall here, while Vulpe's got a houseful of children. It just makes more sense." Zone swallowed and looked away, feeling defeated.

"Fine then." He said shortly. "I'll meet you and Squall at the rally point the day after Zell leaves."

Rinoa smiled gently at him and said, "don't worry Zone, I'll be safe here. Now you guys had better get going. Travel safely."

"Have a good night," Zell said, then his mouth quirked up in a half-smile as he added, "Catch up with you later, _Leon_."

"Sleep well guys," Selphie grinned, giving them a wink. Squall sighed, while Rinoa laughed softly.

Rinoa, Squall and Watts watched them leave, and Watts commented dryly, "I don't have to ask you where you're sleeping tonight Rinoa. Just keep the noise to a minimum."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> due to a series of stupid mistakes, i inadvertently pressed the wrong button on my droid phone and deleted this chapter. so this is just a repost. Oops.


	12. Shadows And Dust

After Zone had left with Zell and Selphie, Squall turned and went into the kitchen. Rinoa started to follow him when Watts stopped her.

"Rinoa. I need to talk to you for a minute." Watts said, jerking his head toward the back door.

"Okay. Angelo needs to go out anyway." Rinoa said, following him. The dog followed as well, trotting into the back yard and sniffing his way around the perimeter.

Evening light had cast the yard in shadow, the great trees surrounding the neighborhood contributing to the gloom. Leaning against the railing of the back porch, Watts took out a crushed pack of cigarettes and carefully extracted one, returning the pack to his pocket. Like coffee, cigarettes were hard to come by, so Watts rationed his carefully, knowing eventually he'd have to quit or find a way to get more. He'd probably be better off if he _did_ quit; certainly he'd be healthier.

After the tense moments from earlier however, Watts found that he _needed_ a smoke. Lighting the cigarette, he took a deep drag and exhaled the smoke, finally releasing the stress from earlier.

"I thought you quit. I haven't seen you smoking at all until just now." Rinoa commented.

"Cigarettes are hard to get nowadays. I've been conserving them." He explained.

"You should quit. Then you won't even need to worry about it." Rinoa said.

Watts shrugged, "You're probably right. I'll have to eventually, so I might as well smoke 'em while I still have them."

"Yeah. So, what did you want to talk about?" Rinoa asked him.

Watts frowned, wondering how to begin. With Squall's confession of the night before, he wasn't as concerned on Rinoa's behalf as Zone was. But it did make him wonder if Squall truly would choose Rinoa over SeeD, if push came to shove. Would the commander of SeeD stand with Rinoa against all of his comrades, if it came to that? Watts didn't know, and that worried him.

"He loves you, you know." Watts said, taking another drag off his cigarette.

"Squall? I know. He told me." Rinoa said, smiling at the memory of his whispered words from just a few days prior.

"No. Zone." Watts corrected her quietly. Rinoa stared at him, frowning slightly.

"I love him too. I love you both. You're the brothers I never had." She said, wondering why Watts was bringing that up.

"I feel the same way Rinoa, but… Zone doesn't. He never did. It was easier to let you believe his feelings were brotherly but they aren't. He's loved you from the moment he met you." Watts said. A thin stream of smoke exited his mouth on a sigh.

Rinoa felt tears pricking her eyes then, recalling unguarded moments when she'd seen the utterly lost look on Zone's face as he'd gazed at her, unaware she'd seen him. She'd thought that expression had a different cause. Her heart ached at the thought that she'd been the cause of that pain.

"Why…?" Rinoa whispered, unable to complete the question.

"He has his pride. I've told him to tell you more than once and he refused. He already knew that he'd never be what you wanted, and didn't want to put any pressure on you. Rather than destroy the relationship he has now with you by confessing his feelings, he decided to keep quiet about it." Watts explained.

"So why are _you_ telling me? Aren't you betraying his confidence by doing that?" Rinoa asked him, wondering at his motives. They wouldn't change how she felt about Squall, and poor Zone, much as she cared for him, she could never love him the way she did Squall. But she did value his friendship and like him, would hate to see it destroyed.

"Because it's killing him." Watts said, flicking the spent butt of his cigarette into the yard.

"He'll get over it. He's a nice guy, I'm sure he'll find someone who'll…"Rinoa began, but Watts interrupted her.

"No, Rinoa. I mean it's literally killing him."

Rinoa felt ice forming in the pit of her stomach and she swallowed, asking faintly, "What…do you mean?"

"That damned ulcer's getting worse. Everything he's been holding back, holding inside, all the stress he's had to deal with leading the Forest Owls, its all just…eating him up inside. There are days Rinoa, bad days, where he just lays there trying not to scream, and I actually pray that he finally dies so his agony will end." Watts said, staring blindly into the yard.

"Can't the doctors do anything about it? I mean they should be able to…" Rinoa began, but her voice trailed off when Watts shook his head.

"Goddamn Galbadians ran off the fucking doctors. Not a one of them had the balls to stick around, and we don't have the money to pay for one in Deling City or even fucking Winhill." Watts said bitterly.

"What about healing potions?" Rinoa asked, grasping at any hope.

"You've seen the shops here. There's none to be had. Any we managed to get from raiding the garrison Zone gave away to those who he thought needed it more." Watts answered her.

"Gods…" Rinoa whispered, eyes filling with tears. She folded her arms across her midsection; trying to hold on and hold in the pain she was feeling in that moment at the thought of Zone's suffering.

"You need to convince Zone not to go with you on that hunting trip Rinoa. He's trying to stand up to your SeeD, and he just can't. He's not strong enough for that." Watts said softly.

"He can't die…."Rinoa whispered.

"No, he can't. We need him, more than he knows. He's been the leader of the Forest Owls since we both took it over for our dads five years ago. I've done my best to take care of the hard stuff for him to kind of help shoulder the burden, but he's the one everyone looks to for leadership here. He always has been." Watts said.

"I'll talk to Squall about that, let him know..." Rinoa said, starting to turn away to head back into the kitchen, but Watts grabbed her arm quickly, stopping her.

"Don't. Please. Talk to Zone directly, but leave Squall out of it. Let Zone keep his pride at least, Rinoa. It's all he's got." Watts told her.

Rinoa sighed and covered his hand with her own, bowing her head and saying, "all right."

Watts removed his hand from her arm, taking her hand in his and squeezing it, then kissing it gently, saying, "Thank you Princess."

Rinoa nodded, then whistled through her teeth to call Angelo back, and went back inside of the house.

She stopped a moment, admiring the sight of her handsome, sexy boyfriend, up to his elbows in hot, soapy water as he washed the dishes. It kindled warmth in the pit of her stomach and made her feel weak in the knees all of a sudden. She crossed the kitchen as though pulled by an invisible cord that drew her to him, Zone's plight momentarily forgotten in light of that irresistible pull.

He stilled as she slid her arms around his waist, slipping her hands beneath the hem of his t-shirt to caress his hard stomach, pressing herself into his back and closing her eyes. She soaked up his warmth, listened to his breathing and heartbeat, and heard him swallow. He stood silent and still for a long moment, then one hand, warm and wet from the dishwater, was laid over hers, pressing them into his midsection.

Finally she asked, "Can I help?"

"I'm nearly done. But you can dry if you want." He answered her.

Rinoa nodded against his back, saying, "Okay." Then she reluctantly left his warmth to come around to one side of him. He silently handed her a dishtowel and she started to dry the bowls that had already been washed. Squall finished the last few dishes and utensils that remained, drained the sink and wiped down the counter top and stove. The remains of the soup had already been placed into a container and put away in the refrigerator.

Squall silently took the bowls that Rinoa had dried and placed them in the cupboard, leaning close to her and invading her space as he reached upward. Rinoa could have stepped back to allow him room, but instead stayed put, welcoming his proximity.

He didn't step back either, after putting the bowls away. They stood just inches apart, not quite touching but not far from it. Each had only to lean forward just a little and they would meet. He gazed down at her as she gazed up at him, tongue-tied as always. Too much crowded his mind and heart in that moment, jumbling and jamming up inside of him, leaving him mute. He wasn't much for words anyway, preferring actions instead. And the one action he'd wanted to do all day was just a breath away.

Rinoa smiled as she saw his eyes darken, saw him lean forward toward her. She reached up to meet him, eyes drifting closed as his lips met hers. And just like that, the world fell away. Nothing else mattered to her but the feel, the taste of his lips on hers, the warmth of his body as his arms came around her and pulled her close. Her arms came around him in turn, her hands slipping beneath his shirt to caress the warm skin of his back. She wanted more, much, much more, and as his arms tightened around her, Rinoa could tell that Squall was of a similar mindset.

He took what he wanted, Rinoa welcoming the sweet invasion of his tongue, taking back in turn what she gave him. Heat rose and smothered them, leaving them insensible to all but each other. One of his hands was splayed at the small of her back, pressing Rinoa flush against his body, leaving no doubt of his interest. The other speared through her hair at the back of her neck, threading through the silken strands as his lips and tongue assaulted hers so thoroughly it left her breathless and reeling.

They broke off briefly, and Rinoa whispered breathlessly, "Where's your bedroom?"

"Upstairs." Squall murmured, skimming his lips along her neck and making her shiver.

"Show me?" She whispered, eyes closed as she tilted her head back and allowed him to nip and nibble down her neck gently.

Squall paused, staring down at her flushed face and well-kissed lips, aching to do more and knowing that the kitchen wasn't the best place to do it. There was no question of resistance, no thought of anything else but his need for her. He nodded slightly and Rinoa slid from his arms, taking both of his hands in hers and towing him toward the stairs.

He followed slowly, as though in a trance, and they left the kitchen together.

Watts watched them through the kitchen window, the deepening gloom of evening throwing the scene in the kitchen into stark relief. He'd purposely remained outside when he'd seen Rinoa approach Squall, intending to allow them some privacy. He still wasn't one hundred percent sure if Squall would stand with Rinoa or not, but everything he'd seen and heard thus far left him fairly confident that Rinoa had nothing to fear from her mercenary lover.

He knew better than to try to convince Zone of that however.

 _Damn fool would challenge Squall to a fight just to prove a point, and get killed for his hubris._ Squall's cool statement that he wouldn't allow Zone another shot at him had chilled Watts. Even if Zone hadn't caught the warning in that statement, Watts had. At the very least, if Zone attacked Squall again, he'd get hurt.

Then Watts reconsidered that thought. Squall wasn't stupid, and Watts had noticed that whenever he interacted with Zone he subtly backed his leadership rather than taking over himself. Regardless of his personal feelings toward Zone, Squall apparently saw him as a leader to be supported in this action rather than a hindrance to be shoved aside. The trouble was, Zone was pretty good at preserving the illusion that he was stronger than he actually was. Squall wouldn't have to intend to hurt him for even a defensive action on his part to have devastating consequences for Zone.

It left Watts in the unenviable position of being caught between a pig-headed and stubborn quasi-brother and a coldly implacable mercenary who probably didn't even know the _meaning_ of the word "surrender". Yeah, the hunting trip was _bound_ to be a joy.

Watts sighed and got up from his slumped position on the porch rail and opened the kitchen door, flipping the light off as he walked through the room. He headed toward his bedroom, concentrating so fiercely on how to keep Zone from killing himself on the hunting trip, should Rinoa fail to convince him to stay behind, that he wasn't paying attention to anything else. Certainly not the sounds coming from the bedroom that Squall…and Rinoa… were currently using. It was just as well. That way he could honestly claim ignorance if Zone asked for confirmation that Squall and Rinoa were doing more than sleeping in the bed they were currently sharing.  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rinoa led Squall to the top of the stairs and paused, not sure where to go from there. Squall passed her then and led her; fingers still tangled with his, down the hallway toward the room he was currently using. As he did, Rinoa glanced at the walls, noting the yellowing paint, the dusty photographs of Watts, Zone, and their families. Learning that both young men had initially bonded in a mutual loss of their mothers had drawn Rinoa to them. Her original desire to help them, born as an act of rebellion against her father, seemed inconsequential compared to the real tragedies that both Zone and Watts had endured.

When they learned that she too had shared a loss common to them all, they had embraced her whole-heartedly into the family that they had gathered around themselves to replace what they'd lost to Vinzer Deling's cruelty. She was still their Princess, a term once meant as an insult and now changed to an affectionate term of endearment, and in Rinoa's mind and heart, a part of her always would be.

But in spite of that, as much as she cared for Watts, Zone and all of the Forest Owls, Rinoa held one thing back, not sure even now how it would be received by her friends. She had been honest and forthright regarding her status as a sorceress, though it had worried her how they'd take it. It had relieved her deeply to see that they'd accepted this new information about her and treated her no differently than they had before. She was less confident however, with her _other_ secret.

In all the time she'd known Watts and Zone, she had never once mentioned her father. Even now, none of the Forest Owls was aware that Rinoa Heartilly, their Princess, was the daughter of General Fury Caraway, one of the commanders of the Galbadian army under President Vinzer Deling. The same General Caraway that was even now taking control of Galbadia and setting himself up as its latest dictator. The very same General Caraway that had led the invasion of Timber seventeen years ago.

It was now part of a past that was all just shadows and dust. Perhaps it wouldn't even matter to them now, but Rinoa wasn't sure. So she remained silent, and deeply grateful for the prudent discretion of the SeeD mercenary who was now both her knight and her lover.

His warm, strong hand still gripped hers gently, leading her down the hallway and past the bathroom to a closed door. A click of the light switch upon opening the door revealed a smallish room equipped with a bed, a table with a lamp upon it, a scarred dresser and a threadbare throw rug of indeterminate coloration. Squall's pack and his gunblade both rested against the wall next to the door, both appearing ready to be seized and put to use at a moment's notice.

Squall closed the door behind them and simply stood there, gazing down at Rinoa for a moment. A gentle tug drew her closer to him, and his free hand moved up to caress her cheek, the thumb stroking across her lips. Rinoa closed her eyes and leaned into the caress, drawing Squall's thumb slightly into her mouth and feeling an inward thrill at the audible catch in his breath.

"I've missed you," she whispered softly. Another tug pulled her closer and the hand that held hers let go and moved to her waist.

"It's only been a day." Squall murmured, pointing out the obvious.

"You know that's not what I'm talking about." Rinoa responded, her hands reaching out to touch him. Sliding slowly along his waist and under his shirt, stroking the smooth skin and feeling solid warmth beneath. Opening her eyes to see Squall's mutable aquamarine gaze locked with hers. To see it gradually darken with desire.

Squall's hand drifted back from her cheek, the fingers threading through her hair. Simultaneously, the hand at her waist slid to her back, pulling her flush against him and pressing her close.

"I know," he whispered, kissing her. Feathery light at first, teasing her and making her ache for more, making her breath hitch and stomach tighten as she began to burn. She moved her hands up Squall's back beneath his shirt, pressing herself closer still, wanting, _needing_ to be part of him in the only way that two people could become one. The kisses grew hotter, wetter, and Rinoa welcomed the invasion of Squall's tongue as it dueled with hers, stoking the fire that was rising within her.

Rinoa pushed his shirt up and Squall left off kissing her briefly to pull it off and toss it away, returning to assault her lips again, kissing and sucking at them, making her knees weak and forcing her to cling to his solid strength. She let her head loll back with a whispered moan as his trailed his lips down her neck, pulling the collar of her t-shirt aside to nip gently at the sensitive skin there. Her shirt was likewise pulled off and tossed away in a similar manner as Squall's was, leaving her clad only in her jeans and the black bra she was wearing that day.

Rinoa found it suddenly hard to breathe as Squall reached up to her shoulders and pulled the bra straps down. The warm kisses he trailed from the base of her neck at her shoulder down the sensitive skin to her cleavage left her shivering and gasping. Then one hand moved slowly up her back and the catch to her bra was released. She gasped again as her bra was pulled off and a rough, callused hand caressed and stroked one of her sensitive nipples. A teasing flick of Squall's tongue at the other intensified the molten heat pooling in her loins, and she speared her hands into his hair on a shivering moan as his lips closed over the tender flesh and sucked.

They weren't even completely undressed yet, and Rinoa was already half-insane, all rational thought abandoned in the wake of the passion that was overwhelming her. Judging by his harsh breaths and almost audibly pounding heart, Squall was in a similar position. Of their own volition, Rinoa's hands slid from Squall's back to the front of his jeans, undoing them slowly. She smiled secretively at the gasp, followed by a throaty growl, that she forced from him as she brushed against his evident excitement.

They both removed and discarded their remaining clothing, Squall taking Rinoa into his arms and laying her back onto the bed, kissing her deeply. There was never any thought of resisting or even controlling what he felt, the only thing that existed in that moment was his need to be united with her, body and soul. Every time he was with her, his intentions were to take his time and explore every square inch of her body, and almost every time, he lost himself to the passion that overrode all reason.

They shifted, bodies yearning toward each other, lips and tongues dueling, each aching for the other. The flare of power that warmed them both as they joined was simply part and parcel of their lovemaking experience. Rinoa's breaths were reduced to ragged gasps as she wrapped her arms and legs around Squall and held on, holding him deep inside of her. Moans were dragged from her throat as he surged and retreated forcefully, his own breathing harsh and labored, warming her neck and face with its heat.

Every time they were together, something new was discovered. Each time they made love was different. And Squall for his part was nearly swept away by the power and intensity of what he was feeling. This time was more immediate, more powerful, more…. raw. Rinoa cried out and raked her nails down his back, the pulsing surge of warmth from her climax bringing Squall's along with it. He groaned and trembled, as his own release left him feeling both weak and powerful all at once.

Watts had gotten it wrong, in his speculation on Squall's character. Squall knew very well the meaning of the word 'surrender'. He did it every time he made love with Rinoa; surrendering his heart, soul and body into her keeping.

They came to themselves sweat-slicked and hearts pounding, trying to catch their breaths. Squall sprinkled light kisses over Rinoa's face before finally ending with a slow, soft, lingering kiss to her lips.

"I love you," he whispered on a breath, raising himself up onto his elbows and stroking her hair back from her face. They lay still joined together, neither wanting to break the spell and sever that connection. Eventually however they had to shift positions, and as they did, Squall withdrew from her and discovered that he'd forgotten something very important.

 _He hadn't worn a condom!_ He rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling with a whispered curse, mentally berating himself for his oversight. A ball of ice began to form in the pit of his stomach while his mind raced at the possible repercussions. He'd prided himself on his self-control, his sensibility, but tonight for some reason….

His sudden withdrawal startled Rinoa and she raised herself onto an elbow, peering over at him in concern, asking, "Squall? What's wrong?" He'd placed his hand over his forehead and closed his eyes, remaining ominously silent.

Rinoa pulled herself close to him and rested her head on his chest, worried. Her worry was diminished somewhat when his other arm came around her and pulled her close. She caressed his chest, kissing it near his pendant, hoping that contact would ease Squall's mind and calm him.

"I'm sorry," he finally whispered. He moved his hand from his forehead to Rinoa's hair, stroking it.

"Sorry? Why?" Rinoa asked, confused.

Squall swallowed audibly and answered, "I…I forgot to…" Rinoa frowned, then suddenly realized what had upset him and smiled.

"It's okay." She said softly.

Squall looked over at her, frowning, "No, Rinoa, it's not. It was stupid and reckless and I _know_ better…" Rinoa placed her fingers over his lips, stilling them.

"It's _okay_ ," Rinoa repeated firmly. "I went to see Dr. Kadowaki with Selphie before we left, and got the D shot along with her."

Squall stared over at her, then went limp with relief, saying, "Oh, Hyne Rin."

Rinoa smiled, lightly tracing her fingers up and down Squall's chest, saying, "Scared you, did I?"

"Out of a year of my life," Squall said, capturing her hand and bringing it to his lips. She couldn't fight the thrill that the warm, soft pressure of his lips on her hand gave her, and caressed his cheek.

"It's okay. You have nothing to worry about. I'd have told you a long time ago, but haven't had the chance." She said.

He shifted to face her, reaching out to stroke a lock of hair away from her cheek. He let his fingertips trail lightly along her cheek to her lips, tracing them with a feathery light touch. It tickled Rinoa, forcing her to lick at them with her tongue, moistening them. Squall wanted to kiss her then, but held off, more interested in tracing the contours of her body.

The warm golden light from the bedside lamp gave Rinoa's pale skin a creamy luminescence. Silky smooth, white and flawless, with nipples of dusky rose; he could stare at her for hours, completely fascinated with all of her peaks and valleys. The threatening clouds of earlier that day had finally rolled in, obscuring the waxing moon and darkening the night. The rain had yet to fall, but Squall could smell the moisture in the air through the window he'd left cracked open. It would rain before morning, he was certain of it. He wondered if Gram had already gotten her fire going for the night.

He made a promise to himself then as he drank in the beauty of his angel, that he would make love to her by moonlight, as soon as he could possibly manage it. He wanted to see that perfect white skin of hers bathed in silvery light. Rinoa _always_ looked stunning in moonlight.

He focused on that instead of the scare of earlier; the results which, if Rinoa _hadn't_ been proactive enough to get that shot, didn't bear thinking about.

Rinoa, for her part, wondered at his somewhat pensive expression as his fingers trailed lightly down her side and over her hip. She shifted onto her side, facing him but not touching him, not quite. She had taken the precaution that Selphie had recommended, not even sure that it was necessary.

 _"You must be aware Rinoa that it is entirely possible that you, like all other sorceresses, will not be able to conceive. This may be entirely unnecessary." Dr. Kadowaki had said as she readied the shot._

 _"You don't know that for sure though, do you?" Rinoa asked her._

 _Dr. Kadowaki shook her head, "No. There is no information on anyone older than the age of ten becoming a sorceress."_

 _"Then I'd rather be safe than sorry," Rinoa said firmly, holding her arm out. Dr. Kadowaki nodded and administered the shot._

She wasn't sure yet how she felt about the possibility of sterility resulting from the power she had inadvertently gained. At seventeen, she was years away yet from even considering having children, particularly as she was little more than a child herself. Certainly she wasn't ready for such a huge responsibility, and she knew it. Judging by Squall's reaction to that possibility, it was a safe bet that _he_ wasn't either. Not surprising, really. For all that Squall was a mercenary commander and mature in certain respects well beyond his actual age, he was still a seventeen-year-old boy. But it didn't stop a tiny kernel of thought in the back of her mind that wondered: _if_ they had children, what would they look like?

The night air had cooled and distant thunder rumbled as the threat of rain was realized. Rinoa shivered from the cold and from Squall's caresses, which had changed from idle tracings to a more purposeful touch. One that Rinoa couldn't help but respond to. Squall's large, warm hand smoothed over her hip again, this time pulling her flush against him, leaving no doubt of his intentions.

She shivered again at his warm breath and warmer kisses, as they trailed up her neck, nipping at her ear gently before his lips found hers and stole her breath again. She gasped for air as he left off kissing her and redirected his attention to her breasts, while she combed her fingers through his hair, closing her eyes and swallowing. She rolled onto her back again and bit her lip, moaning softly as his kisses trailed lower, over her stomach. Desire punched her in the gut when Squall did the unexpected and nipped gently at the point of her hip.

"Please…" She whispered. She was not sure what she was asking for exactly, only that she wanted the ache that gnawed at her to be satisfied. Squall obligingly moved over her, blanketing her with his warmth and subtly teasing her with his proximity.

"What do you want?" he whispered, eyes glittering at they locked with hers. Rinoa's breath clogged in her throat and she could not find the words she needed. Instead, she slid her arms around him, smoothing her hands up and then down his back until she reached his rear. A slow smile curled Squall's lips as she squeezed his firm behind.

Finding her voice finally, Rinoa whispered, "You."

"Good answer," Squall whispered back. Then he kissed her deeply and gave her what she asked for.

Rinoa's hands gripped him convulsively for just a moment as he sheathed himself within her, then trailed up his back as he began to move. He lost himself in her once again; lost himself in the warmth of her embrace, the movements she made, the sounds she uttered as they made love. Tension spiraled upward toward the pinnacle, Rinoa now digging her nails in and holding on as Squall brought them both to the brink.

An echoing crash of thunder as the storm broke loose provided a cosmic counterpoint to Rinoa's gasping cry and Squall's groan as the building tension was released. They shuddered and fought for breath as the intensity of their dual orgasms mirrored the storm outside. The sensation of making love with Rinoa with no barriers between them had almost been more than Squall could take. It had nearly ended before things had properly begun, and he had no idea how he'd managed _not_ to get too carried away.

Despite the scare of earlier, the thought, the _feel_ of being with Rinoa skin to skin, had excited Squall beyond all reason.

Rinoa's fingers combed gently through his hair and Squall smiled down at her, heartbeat slowing now to a normal rhythm. She smiled back, dark eyes luminous and mysterious in the lamplight. A gentle pull at the back of his head brought his face down to hers as she pulled him into a kiss.

" I love you," She whispered to him, and he kissed her back.

"I love you too." he responded, shifting off of her.

Air cooled by the storm wafted in through the opened window and Rinoa shuddered at the sudden chill. Squall got up briefly and closed the window, pulling the bedcovers back upon his return and getting into bed. Then he reached over to the lamp and turned it off as Rinoa wrapped her arms around him and snuggled close.

He made himself as comfortable as he could, and sighed as Rinoa's warmth, her breaths as she relaxed into sleep, began to work their magic on him. Blinking his heavy eyes sleepily, he kissed the top of her head, inhaling the fragrance of her hair, and listened to the pattering of the rain through the now closed window.

Hovering upon the edge of sleep, head pillowed upon Squall's chest, Rinoa couldn't help but notice by the rhythm of his breaths and the underlying tension in his body, that Squall wasn't asleep yet. That worried her, and made her wonder what she could do to help him sleep. He'd said it would take some time for him to get used to and comfortable with, but in the meantime his rest was suffering for it.

She began to thin her shields and try her emotional projection trick again, only to discover they had _already_ been thinned, and that she had been projecting her emotions all night. She caught her breath at what that implied. It meant that she had been bombarding Squall with her aching desire for him the entire evening. She bit her lip; somewhat surprised that he hadn't ravished her in the kitchen earlier. Judging by the strength of his response to her once they'd gotten to his bedroom, he hadn't been far from it.

Rinoa took a deep breath and firmed up her shields, mindful now of how powerful even an inadvertent emotional projection could be. While she couldn't say that Squall's ardent and passionate lovemaking that evening had been influenced by her leaking emotions, she couldn't say that they had not been, either. She would have to be more careful.

Satisfied that her shields would hold, Rinoa closed her eyes and finally succumbed to sleep.  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"You took a big risk coming here, Zone," the woman on the other side of the doorway said to him. Thunder rumbled as the rain sheeted down, drenching the young man on her doorstep.

"I know Rowan. I'm sorry…" Zone began, when the woman interrupted him, "Well, get in here then, before someone sees you." She opened the door wider and Zone slipped in, then she closed it and locked it behind him. He shook the rain from his wet raincoat, hanging it on a peg near the door, and then doffed his watch cap and did the same thing.

Taking his hand, she led him down the darkened hallway to a bedroom and turned to face him. Oval face, long, dark hair, dark eyes, pale, luminous skin… Zone swallowed, seeing another face instead of the one belonging to the beautiful woman that stood in front of him, and hating himself for it. She knew, but did not comment on it. She simply reached for his shirt, unbuttoning it.

"So, she's back. And with her SeeD in tow." Rowan commented as she pulled his shirt off.

"Yes," Zone answered her, mouth going dry at the soft kiss she placed on the center of his bared chest.

"I saw him in the cavern. He reminds me of a lion; as dangerous as he is beautiful." She commented. Zone sighed, and she laughed softly.

"Rinoa always did go for the bad boys, didn't she?" she asked, turning away for a moment to unbutton her blouse.

Zone frowned at that, saying, "You're not helping, Ro."

The young woman turned back to face him, expression softening as she reached out and caressed his cheek, saying, "I know. And I'm sorry." She finished unbuttoning her shirt and took it off, letting it fall to the floor. Then she walked forward and slipped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. She smiled sadly as his arms came around her and pulled her close.

"That's okay Rowan. It's not like I've tried to hide what a fool I've been about her. She's the only one that doesn't know it." Zone said, soaking up the warmth from the woman he held and deriving some measure of comfort from her.

Rowan resumed undressing him, her knowing hands making Zone gasp as they caressed his chest and ribs before she unbuttoned his trousers. Removing her bra prompted him to reach out and caress her breasts. She caught her breath and then made him gasp again as she reached down to fondle him intimately.

"Everyone's a fool for someone at least once," she whispered. Zone couldn't formulate a reply to that; Rowan's lips had silenced him, the kiss distracting him from his aching heart. She removed the rest of her clothing and pulled him onto the bed with her, pulling him into her arms.

Their kisses grew heated, both passionate and needy, as Zone sank into Rowan's embrace, sank into her warmth, and did his best to lose himself in her. She didn't love him, and he didn't love her; but they needed each other.

Neither could have what they wanted; Zone was hopelessly in love with a girl who loved someone else. She would never be his. Rowan too pined for what could never be. The husband that she'd loved, the baby they'd been expecting, both taken from her by a Galbadian soldier's brutality.

But when the nights grew darkest, when the pain of loneliness became well nigh unbearable, they sought each other out. Neither was what the other wanted, but for a few brief moments, they could be what each other needed. It was almost enough.


	13. Hunter's Moon

Zone was _not_ feeling well. He'd managed breakfast okay, albeit only dry toast and an egg. Sometimes he could eat just fine and his stomach wouldn't bother him at all. Other times…

Zone heaved the remains of his breakfast into the commode, eyes streaming tears and guts on fire with pain. Thank the Gods that Zell had left on his trip the day before, so Zone was alone. No one could hear his retching sobs as he tried to calm his gastric spasms.

"Fuck." He whispered, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, collapsing weakly against the porcelain and leaning his head upon his crossed arms. He laughed breathlessly at the fact that he'd just cleaned it. At least he didn't have to smell anything but his own sickness.

Rinoa had come by the other day and tried to convince him not to go on the hunting trip. He didn't know whether to be warmed at her concern for his health or angry at Watts for tattling on him. It was a bit of both, and he'd stubbornly refused to listen, insisting that he'd be fine.

He _thought_ he'd gotten the management part of handling his ulcer down, but now…. he wasn't so sure. If he were to be honest with himself, he probably _should_ beg off and stay home. Then he remembered the scornful look Squall had given him the last time he'd done that.

Fuck it. He'd go even if it killed him.

Taking a shuddering breath, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and frowned at the red streak left behind. He'd attributed the bitter, coppery taste in the back of his throat to the bile that had come up along with his breakfast. Getting shakily to his feet, he peered into the bowl and the burning ache in his guts turned to ice as he saw more of what he'd wiped from his mouth. Blood.

He shuddered and flushed, then turned to the sink to wash his hands and rinse his mouth. Then he turned the tap to cold and splashed his overheated face with it. Turning it off, he patted his face dry and leaned against the sink, shuddering convulsively again as a chill struck him. He laughed mirthlessly at the image that he saw in the mirror: white skin, hollow eyes, and a hectic flush to his cheeks greeted him. Death warmed over was putting it kindly.

Then his expression hardened and his eyes took on a flinty cast that was a match even for the redoubtable mercenary that had organized the hunting trip he was preparing for. Had Squall seen it, it would have proved to him that Zone had more than a little steel in his spine and iron in his spirit. Turning away from the mirror, he shut off the light and left the bathroom.

Grabbing his father's gun, he checked the magazine, gathered what few bullets he had left and stuck it all in the pocket of his peacoat. Then he shouldered his pack and left, exiting into the predawn darkness to make his way toward the rally point.  
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As Squall readied their chocobo, she cooed softly and rubbed her beak against his hair, nibbling at it and making Squall shudder at the ticklish frisson that went down his spine. Zell had taken the male, with Selphie worrying about separating the two apparently bonded birds. They didn't have any problems with either bird when they left however.

"It's so funny how much she likes you," Rinoa said softly with a smile. The sun had yet to rise, but the moon had already set, so they were in the proverbial darkness before the dawn. The other participants in this adventure had already gathered and were similarly engaged in readying their chocobos, with a select few hidden about the perimeter of the staging area keeping an eye out for intruders.

"Yeah, well she can be a real pain." Squall grumbled, pushing the bird's beak away from his head as he tightened the harness it was wearing. He'd already loaded their packs and his gunblade hung in its accustomed position at his hip.

Rinoa was about to respond when a soft trilling call caught her attention. She recognized it for Watts' signature, the Western Horned Owl. Two more calls sounded, one a bloodcurdling shriek and the other an almost melodic twittering. The Kestrel and the Shrike. Obviously, Watts had their namesakes in tow.

Gripping Squall's arm briefly, she said, "It's Watts. I'll be right back." Squall nodded silently and continued harnessing their chocobo.

She came up to him, glancing briefly at the two tall shadows that stood nearby and said softly, "He's coming."

Watts sighed and nodded, "All right." _Dammit Zone! You damn fool._ Well, there wasn't much he could do about it now. He wasn't about to get into it with him where everyone could hear. The last thing the resistance needed to know was the fact that their leader was ill.

Right on cue, a deep, sonorous hoot sounded. It was the Great Horned Owl. Zone.

He stepped out of a pool of shadow and Rinoa stepped up to him and hugged him, whispering, "You fool."

"Yeah, well that's nothing new," he whispered back. Rinoa snorted and caressed his cheek, frowning slightly at its warmth.

"We're almost ready to go," Watts said, adding, "I was just bringing Kestrel and Shrike with me to meet Squall."

"Well, let's go then," Zone said.

"Follow me guys," Rinoa said, leading them back to where Squall waited by their chocobo.

"Squall, Zone and Watts are here, and the two guys they told you about, Shrike and Kestrel." Rinoa explained, coming up to him.

Squall nodded, "Zone, Watts. We're ready whenever you are." Then he directed his attention to the tall shadows that stood slightly behind Watts and Zone. It was too dark to get much of a read on them. The only impression that Squall got was that they were tall and spare, but he couldn't make out any more detail than that.

"Shrike," the tall shadow on the left nodded.

"Kestrel." The second shadow on the right doffed its hat.

"Squall," Squall responded, and they both nodded.

Rinoa rolled her eyes and snorted at the laconic exchange, pointing first toward Zone, then to Watts and then herself, intoning, "Zone, Watts, Rinoa. Me go ride chocobo now."

Watts and Zone both chuckled, and the two shadows behind them both shrugged.

"You know where we're going?" Zone asked Squall.

"I have a direction in mind, yeah." Squall answered.

"Might as well get on with it then," Zone said, and followed Watts to their chocobo.

Squall leaped aboard his bird, and reached down to pull Rinoa up to sit in front of him. Rinoa whistled and Angelo leaped up into her arms again. She caught him with an audible grunt and Squall shook his head at that. Angelo _wasn't_ a small dog, weighing in at nearly eighty pounds. How Rinoa was able to catch him at all simply amazed Squall.

"We need to figure out a better way to get him up here," Squall said as he signaled their bird to move.

"This is easier than lifting him up," Rinoa said.

"I know, but he practically knocks you off each time." Squall said, frowning. They fell into line with the rest of the chocobos and their riders, threading quietly through the darkened forest. It wasn't nearly as dark as it was moments ago, and Rinoa deduced that dawn wasn't far off.

"Which is why I like sitting in front of you. You make a wonderful anchor." Rinoa said, snuggling back into his body. His arms tightened around her and she laughed softly when he stole a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Nice to know I'm useful." He said.

Rinoa laughed softly again, "Very."

They exited the forest as the first rays of the sun speared above the horizon, and Squall called a halt to the company for a moment while he consulted his compass. He told Zone and Watts, who sat next to them on their own chocobo, their direction, then they continued onward.

Squall urged his chocobo to greater speed and led everyone in the direction he'd chosen. The birds were all in fine fettle that morning, and they covered an impressive amount of territory by the time they took a break to rest and eat lunch at midday.

They found a shady copse of trees with a nearby spring where they could refill their water bottles, and Squall called a halt, leaping off the chocobo as it settled down to rest. He stretched as he walked toward the spring, his and Rinoa's water bottles in hand. Placing a purifying tablet into each container, he filled them, capped them and returned to where Rinoa rested against the side of their chocobo, shaking them to dissolve the tablets.

Handing the bottle to Rinoa, Squall dug into his pack and pulled out an apple and an orange, asking, "Which do you want?"

"I'll take the orange." Rinoa said. He handed it to her and started buffing his apple against his shirt as he prepared to sit down next to her. The chocobo warbled softly and raised its crest, angling its head toward Squall as he sat down and rested against her side.

The bird warbled again as Squall took a bite, chewed and swallowed, then he frowned, "What?"

Rinoa laughed softly, "I think she's hungry."

"They eat apples?" Squall asked her.

"I don't know, try it." Rinoa answered him.

"All right," Squall shrugged, and pulled his skinning knife from his boot. Cutting the apple in half, he held half of it out to the chocobo. The bird tilted its head, as if considering taking the piece of fruit, then delicately lifted the apple from Squall's hand. Then it tossed its head back, swallowing it.

Squall watched as he took a bite of his half of the apple, commenting, "I thought they ate gysahl greens or something."

"They'll eat pretty much anythin', includin' carrion." A voice drawled. Daylight had given features to the lanky shadow that had been introduced to Squall as Shrike. The other shadow, Kestrel, was similarly tall, shared the same features and virtually the same attire as his compatriot with the exception of his hat. Which looked suspiciously like Irvine's.

"Carrion? Really?" Rinoa asked, interested. Squall studied the two men while busying himself with cleaning his knife off, wiping it on the leg of his pants before returning it to the sheath in his boot.

Their age was hard to determine, though Squall guessed mid twenties. Same height, same whipcord leanness, same dark hair, sun-browned skin…. same crazy look in their brown eyes. Shrike's hair was long and pulled back into a ponytail, while Kestrel wore his similarly long hair in a braid down his back. Both wore loose-fitting military issue camouflage patterned trousers, boots and deep green t-shirts. Both had large knives belted at the hip, and both carried large, unstrung bows and a full quiver of arrows strapped to their backs. They were virtually identical, and by that Squall deduced that they were brothers, possibly even twins, though he could see some slight differentiation between the two.

"You sound Galbadian," Squall observed.

"From Winhill, northern part. Got no love fer them bastards what tore up Timber, I'll tell ya what." Shrike answered him. Hillfolk. It figured.

"To answer your question," Kestrel said, addressing Rinoa with a tip of his hat. "Chocobos are omnivores. You can tell by the hooked beak. They _have_ been known to eat meat and even hunt for it, though it's rare. Usually they stick to fruit, nuts and greens, particularly the domesticated ones."

Squall turned his attention to Kestrel, surprised. Shrike had sounded exactly like one would expect a hillbilly from northern Winhill to sound. Kestrel did _not_ , which argued the fact that at some point, _this_ hillbilly had managed to get educated. If one took the two young men at face value, expecting their rough exterior and hill borne accents to equal stupidity, they would be sorely mistaken. Squall had seen the intelligence that glittered in both young men's eyes, and wasn't foolish enough to make that assumption.

"I didn't know that, about the chocobos I mean." Rinoa said, then she smiled up at them and said, "You must be brothers. You look almost like twins."

"We're brothers." Kestrel confirmed.

"Nope, cousins." Shrike argued.

Kestrel scowled and punched Shrike in the shoulder, growling, " _Brothers_ , dumbass!"

Squall simply watched, frowning slightly, while Rinoa asked, confused, "Which is it, brothers or cousins?"

Simultaneously, Shrike said "cousins," while Kestrel insisted, "brothers."

"We're brothers." Kestrel explained, silencing Shrike with a glare, then jabbing a thumb at him as he went on, "dipstick over here likes to say we're cousins 'cause our ma went and married our Uncle Jimmy after daddy died. We're actually fraternal twins."

"So, technically, we're both." Shrike chimed in.

"As if we weren't already hick enough," Kestrel grumbled.

Rinoa giggled and Squall snorted.

"How do you know so much about chocobos?" Rinoa asked them, interested.

"Our family runs a chocobo ranch. Racin' chocobos, in fact. Don't do too badly either on the racetrack, if I do say so myself." Shrike answered proudly.

"We _did_ , until everything went to hell and gone over the last few months. At least that asshole Deling got his is all I can say." Kestrel said darkly.

"What happened?" Rinoa asked. Squall sighed, growing impatient. He had no idea what the two guys wanted with him but he keenly felt the urge to be back on the trail and listening in while these two rubes talked Rinoa's ear off was starting to chafe at him.

"Pretty much what happened to everybody. President Deling went ape-shit for no damn reason, got hisself killed and the whole damn world went crazy for a little bit. Lost half our damn chocobos to that shit," Shrike groused.

"How'd you get involved with Timber's resistance?" Rinoa asked them.

"Mostly out of boredom. Not much to do in or around Winhill, and even hunting monsters gets old after awhile. Heard about the stuff the Forest Owls got stirred up over in Timber and thought we'd join the fun." Kestrel grinned wickedly.

Squall had reached the end of his rather limited tolerance for what he considered to be utter nonsense, so decided to move things along to their natural conclusion by asking, "was there something you two needed?"

"Oh, right. Sorry commander," Kestrel began to be interrupted curtly by Squall.

"Just call me Squall."

Kestrel exchanged a glance with his brother and shrugged, "Ok Squeal."

"Squall." Squall repeated, wondering if the guy was deliberately flubbing it or if his hill accent was simply making it sound like he'd said _Squeal_ instead of _Squall_.

"Skoal?" Shrike hazarded.

" _Squall!_ " Squall glared at them both, arms folded across his chest and more than a little annoyed at that point. "What do you two want?" he asked again. The brothers exchanged a glance and mutually decided not to push any farther and came to the point of their rather protracted visit.

"Well see, we were scoutin' around and came across some elk sign. Figured this might be a good place to stop for the night and get try our luck at some hunting this evening. We could always move on toward Obel Lake in the morning if you'd like." Kestrel said.

Squall narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, then nodded, "that's not a bad idea." Turning his attention back to the brothers, he told them, "Pass it along to the rest of the group that we're going to go ahead and make camp here tonight."

The two young men nodded and left, and Squall got to his feet, reaching down for Rinoa's hand to pull her up as well, following the brothers toward where the rest of the hunting party had gathered. They got camp organized and various duties assigned fairly quickly, Squall's experience in that area serving him well.

Tents were set up and everything was ready in plenty of time for Squall and Rinoa, along with Shrike and Kestrel, to go out on a late afternoon hunt for the elk the two young men had seen signs of. The remainder of the hunting party would remain behind in camp, guarding it in case of attack.

Zone watched them go with a mixture of relief and apprehension as he saw Rinoa heading out at Squall's side. Angelo trotted ahead of them, nose to the ground.

"Does he _really_ think he can kill an elk with a gunblade?" Zone asked, shaking his head.

"If he gets close enough. He can kill anything with that weapon, you know that." Watts told him.

Zone snorted, "I'll believe that when I see it."

"Then you should have gone with them." Watts said.

Zone sighed, "I know. But it's just as well they didn't ask me along. I'd be worse than useless."

"At least you get a bit of a break. How are you holding up?" Watts asked him, concerned. Zone's color had not improved and he looked way more tired than a simple chocobo ride, even one of several hours, could account for.

He hadn't eaten either, just picked listlessly at his lunch. He'd managed to drink water, and that was about it.

"I'll be fine Watts, I'm just tired." Zone said without much conviction. His stomach hadn't bothered him much during the trip, just minor twinges here and there, but he still felt off. He had no appetite at all, and felt both hot and cold by turns, a fact that puzzled him. Ulcers didn't normally come with fevers. He wondered if he'd picked up a bug or something.

"So, take a break for a little bit. You've already got your tent set up, right?" Watts asked him.

Zone nodded. He had to admit, getting himself horizontal and unconscious sounded pretty appealing right at the moment. Unfortunately, even lying flat on his back proved to be uncomfortable. He ached. He froze. He burned. He was hungry and thirsty but the thought of food made him nauseous. The only thing that seemed to help was cool water. He could at least manage that.

Eventually sheer fatigue brought Zone the blessed oblivion he was craving, and he fell asleep, curled tightly around his aching midsection.  
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Squall and Rinoa followed the two brothers as they slipped noiselessly through the forest, Angelo trotting ahead of them, nose to the ground. They had looked askance at Squall including both his girlfriend and her dog on a hunting trip, but made no comment aside from a shrug. They remained quiet until they came upon evidence left behind by their quarry.

Kestrel knelt down and studied the droppings and tracks closely, eyes narrowed, and said quietly, "this is pretty fresh, and looks like it might be a bull. Which means if he's big enough, he's got a herd of cows somewhere around here."

"Maybe," Shrike said. "Too early for rut though."

"He might have a couple, you never know." Kestrel argued. Shrike shrugged.

Squall exchanged a glance with Rinoa, and she whistled Angelo over. Then she pointed him toward the signs that Kestrel was studying and commanded him, "Find." He began to take off but Rinoa held him until they were ready to go. He whined softly and strained at his collar, eager to be off.

"He tracks?" Shrike asked, interested. Both Squall and Rinoa nodded.

"Great! That'll make this a snap then." Turning to Kestrel, Shrike said, "String up brother. It's huntin' time." Both men immediately took the bows off their backs and strung them, grunting from the effort of bending them in order to loop the strings through the notches on either end. The bows, even strung, were longer than Rinoa was tall, and despite their simple design, looked powerful. Still, Squall had his doubts about using bows and arrows rather than rifles; as strong as the looked, they couldn't possibly have the range or power of a good rifle.

"Don't you have rifles?" Squall asked, curious in spite of himself.

Kestrel, who was eyeing an arrow that he was balancing on his finger, answered, "As you are already aware, guns and ammo are pretty dear. It's easier to make arrows than bullets, so we save the guns and the bullets for the soldiers, and use arrows and bows for meat."

"Aside from that, we're both damn good at makin' both. So we stick with what we're good at." Shrike added, then eyed Squall's gunblade and asked him, "How do you intend to kill an elk with _that_ thing?"

"By sticking to what _I'm_ good at." Squall answered.

Shrike snorted, "That ain't an answer."

"It's the only one you'll get." Squall said. Shrike rolled his eyes and began examining his arrows like his brother was.

Watching Kestrel check his arrows, Rinoa asked him, "Why are you balancing them like that?"

"I'm checking the balance of each arrow to make sure that the head isn't heavier than the fletching. If the point of balance is exactly in the middle of the arrow, it'll fly straight and not drop from being too heavy at the head." He explained.

Squall studied the arrows along with Kestrel, and asked, "Obsidian arrowheads?"

"Yep," Shrike answered. "Razor sharp, lighter than flint, and easier to work with. Plus, there's a ton of it around our ranch."

Satisfied that all of their arrows would fly straight, the brothers glanced at each other, nodded, and Kestrel told Rinoa, "loose your dog. See if he can help us find this elk."

"Okay. Find it, Angelo." Rinoa said, and released her hold on Angelo's collar. He sniffed around the dung left behind by their intended target, sniffed a long moment at the tracks cutting up that area, then took off.

Rinoa, Squall and the twins took off after him, loping along while trying to keep the dog in sight. As they ran, Rinoa blew on a small whistle twice, releasing a thin breath of sound.

"Find a hiding spot, quick!" Rinoa said breathlessly, and immediately found a thick stand of brush and ducked into it. Squall followed after her.

"What? Why?" Shrike asked, confused.

"I've commanded Angelo to sort of herd the elk toward us." Rinoa said.

"Great! C'mon bro!" Kestrel said, grabbing Shrike's shoulder and pulling him toward another clump of bushes on the other side of the trail they were following.

They waited, tense and breathless, while the minutes ticked by; Squall pulling out his gunblade while the brothers each nocked an arrow, preparing to draw. Then a distant barking could be heard. Obviously Angelo was on the trail of _something_. Hopefully it was the elk.

The barking grew louder, and was accompanied by the sound of hoofbeats and crashing brush. The elk bleated in panic as the dog growled and snapped at its heels, driving it right toward its doom. Rinoa blew her whistle once more and the barking stopped, while the sounds of panicked flight continued and grew louder.

They saw the elk coming, and Squall was tensed and ready to spring in for the kill but he never got the chance. Two arrows hissed out of the bush where Kestrel and Shrike were hiding, and the elk went down with an arrow in its eye and another in its heart.

Angelo returned to Rinoa moments later, and lay down at her feet, tongue lolling from his mouth as he panted. She praised him and scratched his ears, rewarding him for his efforts. Another, better reward would come later after the kill was dressed.

"Now _that_ there, is a _good_ dog." Shrike said approvingly as he approached the downed elk.

"Did you train him?" Kestrel asked Rinoa as they all joined Shrike at the carcass.

"Yes." She answered.

"Impressive." He said admiringly.

"Nice shot," Squall said, studying the arrow through the elk's eye.

"Mine." Shrike said, indicating the colored banding on the tail end of the arrow.

Squall nodded, indicating that he'd seen it and understood that it identified the shooter. Between the three of them, they got the elk skinned, dressed and butchered in no time, with an appreciative Angelo receiving few tidbits here and there, his reward for his work. The sun was setting as they bundled the meat into the elk's hide, preparing to head back to camp.

Suddenly Squall froze, receiving an alert from Bahamut, the GF he'd junctioned for the trip.

 _What is it?_ He asked.

 _It is small, and fast. It comes quickly._ Bahamut informed him.

 _The blood-smell must have attracted it._ Squall thought, and Bahamut agreed.

Shrike and Kestrel stared in confusion as Squall froze momentarily, then wiped his knife off, returning it to its sheath in his boot before standing in a fluid motion and drawing his gunblade, walking up the trail away from them.

Rinoa hastened to catch up with him and asked, "What is it?"

"Not sure. Might be a Wendigo." He answered. He flicked a glance toward Shrike and Kestrel, asking them, "Can you kill a Wendigo with those arrows?"

They glanced at each other before Kestrel answered, "Yeah. Well, kind of. It takes a lot of arrows to do it."

"Aim for the eyes as soon as it's in range. If it doesn't go down, then stop firing and I'll handle it." Squall said, settling into a relaxed, ready stance.

"Alrighty then." Shrike said, nocking an arrow and directing his attention to the forest. His brother did the same thing.

The creature burst from the bush directly in front of them, charging at Squall. Two arrows hissed out and found their marks, but the wedigo moved too fast for either of the archers to hit its eyes. Instead, they embedded themselves into the creature's body, slowing it down but not stopping it.

Both Shrike and Kestrel quickly nocked another arrow, but it was already too late. Squall was already fighting the monster, slashing at it and ducking its attacks with incredible speed. While the brothers' attention was on Squall's battle, Rinoa had not been idle. She began quietly casting protection spells upon Squall, as well as upon Shrike and Kestrel.

The young men frowned as they watched Squall fight, hesitant to loose another volley of arrows to aid him for fear of hitting him instead. The melee was too thick, both Squall and the monster moving too fast, for them to feel comfortable about taking another shot.

"Rinoa!" Squall shouted as he ducked another swipe from the creature's long arms. "Cast blind on it!"

"Okay," She said, casting the spell. Unfortunately, it missed.

"Shit!" Squall growled as the spell failed. Rinoa was getting better with her spell casting, but sometimes failures _did_ occur. There was never a good time for that to happen, and unfortunately, this was one of the worst.

The beast roared in pain as Squall's gunblade scored deeply on it, but it recovered quickly and countered the attack with a devastating blow of its own that left Squall reeling. He did his best to stay out of its reach, knowing full well what would happen if it got hold of him. He summoned Bahamut and did his best to stay out of the creature's reach while until the Guardian arrived.

Fortunately, Bahamut arrived quickly and sent a blast of flame at it, which the caught the wendigo a glancing blow, the monster's agility helping it to avoid the full force of the attack.

Bahamut soared up and away, retreating to its home dimension until Squall's next summon. The wendigo, enraged and in pain, renewed its attack, with Squall parrying the creature's blows with his gunblade while trying to score a solid hit on it himself. An ill-timed dodge put him right in the creature's range and it grabbed his left arm, flinging him through the air to connect painfully with the trunk of a nearby tree, knocking him senseless.

"Squall!" Rinoa gasped, summoning her energy to send a bolt of lightning at the monster. Simultaneously, Kestrel and Shrike loosed their arrows, each hitting the wendigo in the eye. It fell with a final cry, smoking and still.

Rinoa immediately ran over to where Squall lay crumpled at the base of the tree. He moved, groaning, as she approached with the twins following her.

"Squall? Are you okay?" she asked, kneeling down next to him. He groaned again and opened his eyes, squinting up at Rinoa.

Grimacing in pain, he tried shifting to a sitting position but his head and arm hurt too badly and he gave it up, cursing.

Finally he closed his eyes again and murmured, "I think I have a concussion and my shoulder's dislocated."

Shrike and Kestrel looked at each other, then frowned down at Squall, with Kestrel saying, "That should have killed you."

"I'm not that easy to kill." Squall mumbled.

"Let me see," Rinoa said, combing her fingers through his hair and moving his head carefully to check the injury. It bled sluggishly, and she was just about ready to cast a cure spell on him but Squall stopped her.

"Gotta put the shoulder back in the socket first." He said.

Rinoa bit her lip. He was right, the shoulder had to be put back into its socket before she could heal him, otherwise it would never work right again. But she'd never had to do that before, not for anyone. Most of the injuries that she had dealt with while traveling with the SeeDs involved torn, burned and often bleeding flesh. More rarely she encountered poisonings and broken bones, but never once had she seen an actual dislocated joint before and been asked to realign it.

"Squall, I don't…" she swallowed, unable to finish saying that she didn't know how to do what he was asking and wasn't sure she could do it. But the waves of pain she felt coming from Squall urged her to at least _try_.

Squall frowned slightly and focused on Rinoa the best he could, saying, "You can do it Rin, I know you can. I'll talk you through it." Her eyes blurred for a moment and she caressed his cheek, then nodded.

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "What do I need to do?"

"First, I need you to help me move so I can lay flat. Then I need you to take off my jacket." Squall swallowed. It was going to hurt, but there was no help for it, so he braced himself as Rinoa prepared to help him shift to a better position.

He nodded up at Rinoa and together they managed to get him moved to a more comfortable position. He laid still for a moment, head pounding, shoulder on fire, breathing through the pain and trying to ignore the nausea that roiled in his midsection. He wasn't anxious about getting his dislocated arm tugged at, but the jacket _had_ to come off, otherwise Rinoa wouldn't be able to see what she was doing.

"Okay, now the jacket." Squall said, taking a deep breath. Biting her lip again, Rinoa studied him, trying to figure out how to pull the damn thing off while causing as little pain to him as possible. Finally she started on the uninjured arm, pulling the sleeve down while Squall pulled his arm out of it.

"Roll onto your good side," Rinoa told him softly.

He glanced up at her, then nodded and did as she asked, gritting his teeth against the pain as he did. It still hurt like hell however when she pulled the jacket off his other arm.

Squall squeezed his eyes shut, took a deep breath and whispered, "fuck." The slightest movement to his injured arm sent a red haze of pain through his mind, threatening to overwhelm him completely and knock him out.

"Squall?" Rinoa asked, worried. She stroked his hair back from his face and wiped away the sweat that had started to bead up on his brow. She worried about the next step in the process, afraid that she wouldn't have the strength to do what Squall needed her to do. He laid panting, face white and drawn with pain, eyes shut tightly. He wasn't unconscious; Rinoa could sense that. He was simply gathering himself for what they had to do next.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Kestrel asked.

Gritting his teeth again, Squall rolled back onto his back and opened his eyes, considering the offer. It might actually take two people to set the joint back into place correctly, and it had to be done quickly before the swelling made it impossible to do at all.

Finally he answered, "Yeah. I need you to pull my arm out straight." He gasped as Kestrel knelt down and did as he'd directed, then took a deep breath and said, "Rinoa, I need you to press right here." He directed her hand to the lump made by the misaligned joint.

"Okay. When I tell you to, I need you, Kestrel to pull my arm out and keep pulling it. Just a steady pull, no jerking or anything like that. Rinoa, at the same time, you need to press down as hard as you can on that bump. You should actually hear it pop back into place. I'll try not to yell too loudly so you can hear it." Closing his eyes again, Squall swallowed and took a deep breath, letting it hiss out through his teeth.

A tap got his attention and he frowned in confusion at the stick that Shrike was holding out to him.

"Here. Bite on this. It'll help." Shrike told him.

It might at that, but Squall needed to be able to speak, so he declined it, saying, "Can't. Have to tell 'em what to do." Shrike nodded.

Steeling himself, Squall took another deep breath, let it out slowly and said, "GO!" The pain that flared in that moment blinded him and threatened to smother him completely. He couldn't stop the cry that was torn from his throat as his arm was pulled while Rinoa pressed her full weight upon the injury. It was only an instant of incredible pain, but it seemed to last forever. Then he heard and _felt_ a snap as the joint realigned and the pain faded to a dull throb. He closed his eyes again and just let himself drift a moment, breathing hard, head spinning and body aching.

 _Oh, fucking hell…_ He thought, but was unable to articulate. _That was almost as bad as being tortured. At least it was quick._

"Okay." He panted, "Heal me now, Rinoa. _Please_." He sighed as Rinoa stroked her hand gently over his face; then she cast the spell and the warm, familiar flow of magic spread through his body, salving his pain.

"Feel better?" Rinoa asked, peering down at him. When Squall nodded she smiled and leaned forward, giving in to temptation and kissing him.

She'd dropped her shields almost entirely in order to be better able to heal him. She felt his injury, just as she'd felt the reduction of his pain as the joint had snapped back into place. The mere touch of her lips to his, as open to him as she currently was, felt like touching a live wire. All of Squall's thoughts, emotions, sensations, flooded into Rinoa's mind like a current of electricity. Like a draft of fortified wine, it left her reeling and intoxicated.

 _Gods, I want you so much, but we can't… not here, not now…_ Squall's thoughts, whispering both his desire and his regret at being unable to act upon it at the moment.

His hands caressed her cheeks and tangled in her hair, and he suddenly felt as though he was drowning in her taste and scent. Rinoa too was nearly overwhelmed, and it took all that she had in her to raise her shields and reduce the contact to just the physical. Even that was enough to leave her panting and flushed, aching for more and knowing that it couldn't happen.

A cough as Kestrel cleared his throat caught their attention, and he asked them, "So, um… Does she heal _everybody_ like this? Because I've got this _really_ bad ache…." He stopped and glared at his brother, who'd punched him in the shoulder.

"What? It's a legitimate question!" he protested.

"There ya go again, tossin' around them big fancy words, puttin' on airs. College boy. " Shrike sneered.

"You went to college too! And graduated a year ahead of me! You're just as smart as I am!" Kestrel argued.

"I am _not!_ I am _smarter_ than you. I just don't feel the need to show it off and make everyone else feel dumb by comparison!" Shrike retorted.

Squall and Rinoa both rolled their eyes as the brothers continued to argue. She stood first and reached her hand down to help Squall to his feet. He stood gracefully, and then started brushing himself off, flexing his shoulder and rolling his head to and fro, testing the healing.

Then he walked over to where his gunblade had fallen, picking it up and wiping off as much of the wendigo's blood as he could with leaves before sliding it into its scabbard with a wince.

"Guys!" He called back over his shoulder to the still arguing siblings, "Let's head back before something else decides to put us on the menu along with this elk meat."

"Alrighty then Skwoll." Kestrel said with a salute.

"It's _Squall!_ " Squall corrected him through gritted teeth, adding, "and to answer your question, _no_ , Rinoa does _not_ heal everyone like _that_." Rinoa stifled a giggle at Squall's exasperation, and he turned his glare onto her. She smiled and winked at him, unfazed, and he smiled slightly in response.

"Hey, what do you want to do with this here wendigo thing? They any good to eat?" Shrike asked him.

"Leave it. They taste terrible, and the hide's pretty useless too." Squall said, picking up the bundle of elk meat, prompting both brothers to stare at him as he shouldered it and strode off.

Rinoa picked up Squall's jacket and slung it over her shoulder, trailing after him.

Shaking his head, Kestrel started after the two of them, asking his brother, "How much meat do you figure we dressed off of that bull?"

"Two hundred pounds. Easy. Probably more." Shrike said.

"And that little fucker just picked it up and walked away with it like it was nothing." Kestrel said.

"He's obviously stronger than he looks." Shrike commented.

"You think?" Kestrel retorted.  
***********************************************************************************************************************************************

They walked back to camp as the evening gloom deepened into darkness. As the sun set, a large, golden moon rose, its light brightening the atmosphere even as the evening advanced into night. A hunter's moon, they called it. Bright enough, one could hunt by night, if they were of a mind to. But they had already accomplished their hunting for the night, bringing back more than enough meat for everyone in camp and then some.

Two hundred odd pounds of elk meat wasn't enough for what everyone in Timber needed, but it was a start. Even if they couldn't find a T-rex or something equally large, a few more elk like the big bull they'd just killed might do the trick. Either he or Rinoa could flash freeze the meat with a Blizzaga spell and it would keep for a good long while once they'd packed it into the insulated containers they'd brought to transport it in. Chocobos could carry a surprising amount of weight, according to Watts, so Squall wasn't too worried about overburdening their birds.

All that remained was tracking down a few more elk, or even if they were lucky the herd that Kestrel had speculated might exist nearby. Once that was accomplished, at least one of the more pressing needs that Timber had would be addressed.

"It's a lovely night," Rinoa said, taking in the rising moon, its golden light starting to brighten to silver. The freshness of the night, of the growing things in the forest as they woke up and began to stretch and breathe, made Rinoa take a deep breath as well in order to drink it all in.

Squall didn't reply, but he glanced over at her and smiled gently at the way the light blessed her. She only needed her angel's wings spreading from her shoulders to complete the ethereal, celestial image. He sighed, anticipating a sleepless night as Rinoa slept peacefully in his arms.

It had gotten easier for him over the last couple of days while they were at Watts' place. He still didn't sleep well, but it was getting better. He had to admit that he much preferred having her with him than the alternative, difficulties notwithstanding.

They arrived in camp moments later, the glow from the campfire guiding them. Squall deposited the skin-wrapped packet of meat next to the campfire and flexed his back. Even augmented by Bahamut's strength, carrying that bundle slung over his shoulder hadn't been nearly as easy as it had looked. Watts and the rest of the hunting party gathered around, interested in what they'd returned with.

"If I'm to hazard a guess here, sir, I'd say that we're having elk for dinner tonight, right?" Watts asked him.

"What do you think?" Squall asked in turn, eyebrow raised. He was getting tired of stupid questions and inane conversation. What he really wanted at that point was a bath and several uninterrupted hours of either Rinoa's company or silence. It occurred to him that he'd have both later on that evening when they went to bed. After she fell asleep, of course.

"Who gets to do the honors and cook that up?" Watts asked him.

"Ugh. Not me." Squall answered with a grimace, holding out his dirty, blood, fat and grime smeared hands. Not wanting to ruin his favorite pair of gloves, he'd taken them off to deal with the elk, and hadn't wanted to put them back on with all the resulting mess still on his hands.

Watts wrinkled his nose in disgust, "No, definitely not. I'll take a turn at it then."

Squall nodded and turned to Rinoa, "Freeze whatever they don't end up eating and stash it in one of those insulated containers. I'm going to get cleaned up."

Rinoa sighed as he headed toward their tent for some clean clothes, wishing she could go with him. She kept her shields tightly closed, mindful now of how easily things could get out of hand between them if she did not. Not that she was _opposed_ of course, but Squall might not take too kindly to that type of manipulation, well-intentioned or not.

He was right when he'd told her that they couldn't get too carried away while on the hunting trip. Remaining alert had to take precedence over their mutual desires, as strong as they may be. Besides that, it wasn't good form for a leader to indulge himself in pleasures that were unavailable to everyone else. Once he'd _explained_ the reason for his reluctance to do anything other than sleep with her when they were out in the field, Rinoa couldn't help but admire him for both his restraint and his nobility.

Of course, he'd scoffed at the notion, simply telling her that it was more practical than dealing with the inevitable friction that tended to result when one took advantage of rank's privileges. Rinoa preferred to think of him as being, in his way, sensitive to the feelings of others by not flaunting his relationship with her.

It didn't stop her from wishing that she could see his beautiful body bathed in moonlight as he washed away the dirt from a hard day's work.

She sighed again and went to get an insulated container, carefully freezing each individual cut of meat solid before packing it away. Watts had already selected the cuts he intended to cook and the smell of grilling meat began to make everyone's mouths water.

Walking toward his tent, Squall glanced down at his hands and grimaced, not wanting to even _touch_ the clean clothes he had in his pack until his hands were at least semi clean. Changing his mind, he ducked into the tent and grabbed a small bar of soap and a washcloth from his pack instead. Picking up another of his water bottles as well, he headed for the spring. It wasn't even close to deep enough to actually _swim_ in, but it was sufficient for his needs of the moment.

Approaching the spring, he stripped off his shirt and knelt next to it, plunging both it and his hands into a smallish pool downstream from the source. It was cool, almost cold, and refreshing after riding in the heat of the day, running through the forest and fighting a wendigo.

Grabbing the soap, he washed out the worst of the blood, rinsed the shirt, then wrung it out and tossed it over a nearby bush. Then he cupped both hands and splashed the water over his face and hair. Picking up his washcloth, he wet and soaped it up, then used it to wash his face, hair and upper body, shivering as the cold water raised gooseflesh on his skin. After splashing water again on his face and hair to rinse it out, he then took the washcloth and rinsed out the soap and used it to sponge off the rest of his upper body.

He shivered and shook his head violently, flinging water everywhere. Smoothing his wet hair away from his face, Squall looked around as he stood and moved upstream, closer to the source and refilled the bottle he'd brought. That task done, he took the washcloth and wrung it out, bundling the soap into it. Then he took his wet shirt and flung it over his shoulder, preparing to leave.

The sounds of someone approaching through the brush made him pause, waiting expectantly. He knew those light steps, that catch of breath; there were only two other females in the hunting party, and both moved differently than Rinoa did.

So he waited for her, and couldn't help a small smile as she slowed and stopped, staring at him in the silvery moonlight.

She'd come to tell him something, and the sight of him standing half-naked and bathed in silvery light had caused her mouth to go dry. She couldn't string two coherent words together right then to save her life, all rational thought had fled her mind. All she could do was stare at him.

She was right; shirtless, the water sparkling on his pale skin defining the musculature of his arms and torso, the way the moonlight seemed to concentrate itself upon the silvery necklace and pendant that Squall was never without, the way his wet hair was slicked back from his face…. she'd never seen anything or anyone more beautiful.

Hero, commander, knight, lover, mercenary and warrior…all of the words that had been ascribed to him by herself and others tumbled through her mind, settling finally on one: _mine_. This possessiveness with regard to him was a new thing to her, and she wondered if he shared that same sentiment about her. Since neither she nor he had any interest in anyone but each other, there was certainly no jealousy, or any reason for it.

But along with the thought that he was _hers_ , came the realization that she had his tacit permission to touch him as she saw fit. Even if he wasn't always comfortable with her affectionate displays, he made less and less of an effort to resist them.

So she slowly crossed the small clearing by the spring, the moonlight and magic of the night enhanced by the musical contributions of crickets and frogs. Upon reaching him she extended her hand and touched the cool, still damp skin of his chest, flattening her hand against it and warming his skin with that contact. He simply stood still, watching her.

Automatically, her arms slid around his waist and she leaned into him, damp skin and all, pressing her body close to him and giving him her warmth. She leaned her cheek into his shoulder as his arms came around her in kind and he rested his cheek upon her hair. They stayed that way for several moments in silence, listening to each other's breaths, their heartbeats.

Rinoa finally remembered why she'd come looking for him and whispered quietly, "Dinner's ready if you want to eat."

A quiet laugh puffed the hair on top of her head as he replied, "and here I was thinking you had another purpose in mind."

"Would you have resisted?" Rinoa asked him.

"Probably not. Not very hard at any rate." Squall replied, recalling his thoughts toward that direction of several days ago. Tempting as hell, but they were near the spring where everyone would be coming to refill their water bottles or wash up as Squall had done. Squall wasn't interested in having an audience while he indulged his fancy.

Rinoa laughed softly in reply, and snuggled closer before saying, "well, there's always later if you're still interested."

"Have you eaten yet?" He asked her softly.

"No, I wanted to get you first. We'd better eat before it gets cold." She said.

"Yeah," he said, reluctantly leaving her warmth by releasing her and turning to head back to camp.

She captured his hand in hers and walked beside him, commenting, "You may want to put a shirt on. You still look a little chilled."

"I am still, a bit. That water is _cold_." Squall said, leading her back to their tent.

There was another reason why she'd suggested he put a shirt on. As much as she loved looking at him and enjoyed the appreciative glances the other girls cast his way ( _Yeah, that's right bitches, he's MINE!_ ), the sad fact was, she didn't think she'd be able to keep her hands off him otherwise.

So they stopped at the tent they'd share later and he pulled a shirt from his pack, putting it on before returning to the campfire with her. Shrike and Kestrel were giving an animated and very humorous account of their activities from earlier, the group laughing uproariously at something Shrike had said.

As Squall and Rinoa served themselves, Watts asked, "is what these guys tell me true? Did you really dislocate your shoulder earlier?"

"Yeah," Squall flexed his shoulder and added, "It's fine now. Rinoa helped put it back into the socket and healed me."

Watts nodded thoughtfully, an idea beginning to form. He just needed a moment to speak with Rinoa in private.

"Are we going to continue on in the morning or camp here for awhile and keep hunting?" Kestrel asked.

Squall frowned for a moment, considering that question as he ate. They'd had good luck with finding the bull, and the advantage with using bows rather than rifles was that they were _quiet_. So it was unlikely that any other deer or elk in the neighborhood had been frightened off. The disadvantage of course was the lack of firepower, should they come across anything bigger than an elk. That was where Squall would come in.

Finally he answered, "We'll stay here for at least another day and see what we can get tomorrow."

"So the plan tomorrow then?" Watts asked him.

"Two parties. I'll lead one, and you or Zone can lead the other. We'll each have a better chance of getting another elk or something similar that way. Bring the chocobos with you to help you cover more ground and get the carcass back here. Gut it on site but bring it back here as soon as possible and we'll finish dressing it out and freeze it. If we're lucky, we'll each get another elk." Squall said.

Watts frowned, "Even with two more elk the size of the one you guys killed today, that won't be nearly enough meat for the whole town."

"I know, but it's a start. And if we're _really_ lucky, we might run across something even _bigger_..." Squall said speculatively.

"Bigger? Only thing bigger is a moose or bison. We're too far from the lake country for moose, and there haven't been bison on this continent for _centuries_." Kestrel frowned.

"We've run across a lot of things on this continent that shouldn't be here," Squall said. Remembering the wendigo Squall had fought and the other monsters that they'd killed in the past, Kestrel and Shrike both nodded.

"When do we go then? First light?" Watts asked him.

Squall nodded, "Yes. Either you or Zone decide who you're taking with you." Then he frowned, glancing around, asking, "Where _is_ Zone anyway?"

"He's um… resting. I'll make sure he knows what's up." Watts said.

"Alright." Squall replied, thinking privately that Zone really needed to toughen up. Things would only get rougher as they got farther into their plans, and Zone had to be able to handle it. Squall began to wonder about that.

Between Watts and Squall, they worked out their respective hunting parties, and assigned everyone a turn at watch for the night. Watts said he'd tell Zone of his assignment, while intending instead to take Zone's slot himself.

Plans for the next day completed, Squall lapsed into silence while conversation amongst the various members of the hunting party ebbed and flowed around the campfire. In the past, he'd found that if he kept himself occupied, there would be less chance of someone attempting to include him in the conversation. With that thought in mind, he pulled his gunblade from its holster and got out the cleaning kit he'd picked up along with the clean shirt he was wearing.

The conversation died however as he set to work, everyone watching with interest. It occurred to him then that aside from Rinoa, Shrike and Kestrel, nobody there had actually seen the gunblade drawn from its sheath. Not even Watts, as he had not been present when Squall and Rinoa had been fighting the president's double during the failed kidnap attempt. Indeed, neither he nor Zone had even seen Squall fight.

He did his best to ignore the whispers as he wiped down the blade and handle with a damp cloth, cleaning the blood from it, removed the bullets and laid them aside, then ran a cleaning rod down the barrel a few times until he was satisfied it was clean. He wiped down all the metal parts of the weapon with a small amount of solvent on a rag, cleaning them as well. Then he followed it up with gun oil, wiping down the outside before oiling the cylinder and spinning it to make sure it moved freely. With the gun part of his weapon clean and gleaming in the firelight, he turned his attention to the blade.

"What's that made out of?" a girl asked him.

Squall glanced at her, then took the oiled rag and ran it down the length of the blade before reaching for his honing block, answering, "adamantine." The block, embedded with crushed diamond, scraped along the blade as Squall began honing the edge. It was a painstaking process, as the diamond was the only thing that could sharpen the blade and Squall had chosen the finest grit that he could get away with. It took longer to sharpen the blade that way, but it put a razor's edge upon it if done correctly.

"I've never seen a gunblade like that." A guy commented.

Squall continued honing the blade, the familiar rhythm calming in its repetition. It was a form of meditation for him, the smooth, graceful movement and the scrape of the block against the blade inviting his mind to drift. When he'd made the necessary number of passes to put the best edge on it that he could, he stopped and put the block away.

"Where did you get it from anyway?" the same fellow asked.

Without looking up, Squall examined the edge and answered, "It was custom made in Esthar."

"What's that etched on the blade?" another girl asked him.

Honing finished, Squall ran the oiled cloth along the blade again before wiping off the excess, polishing it until its inner glow was even more pronounced and the winged lion design on the blade was easily visible.

"It's a winged lion." Squall finally answered. He checked the handle again, making sure he hadn't missed any of the blood that he'd smeared on it when he'd drawn it after butchering the elk. Satisfied that his weapon was as pristine as the day he'd gotten it, he snapped open the cylinder and reloaded it. Once that was done, he returned the gunblade to its sheath.

Rinoa smiled as Squall fielded the questions, finding it telling that while he appeared to be ignoring her, he did not protest or move away when she'd leaned lightly against him while he'd worked.

Despite having seen him care for his gunblade several times before, it always fascinated her. Squall had gone through several different gunblades during their quest, either remodeling or replacing his weapon as time, funds and materials had allowed. Some had worked better than others; some had been more beautiful. She remembered in particular a twin-bladed weapon he'd used for a time. He'd called it "punishment", and she remembered how wicked it had looked while in action.

With each incarnation of his gunblade however, Rinoa discovered a little more about him. He made no claims of any creativity or aesthetic sense, yet each version of his gunblade had a different look to it along with its other properties, with each becoming progressively more beautiful. The powerful weapon that Squall now used, that he'd named "Lion Heart", was the most exquisite of all of them.

And Squall himself had designed it. Its deadly magnificence spoke loudly about the young man that used it, providing a broad hint to the beauty hidden in his soul. And its unique combination of aesthetic design and lethal function mirrored its wielder exactly. It was a perfect match for him.

Once Squall had finished with his gunblade, he took out his hunting knife and carefully cleaned and honed it as well.

Rinoa's eyes grew heavy, lulled by the hypnotic motion of the knife and she sighed, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Tired?" he asked her. Finished with sharpening the knife, he wiped it off and returned it to its sheath.

"A little bit." She answered.

"Me too," Squall admitted. "Let's go to bed. I'm taking second watch, so might as well try and sleep now."

"Okay." Rinoa said, yawning and standing up.

Rinoa bade good night to everyone that had gathered around the campfire, with Squall nodding to acknowledge their responses. Then they left, Rinoa reaching down to capture Squall's hand as they faded into the darkness.

Watts watched them go, wondering when he'd have the opportunity to speak with Rinoa about Zone. He knew now that she was a sorceress. He had _not_ known until just this night, that she had the ability to _heal_. It was a significant piece of information and if she hadn't yet thought to use that ability to help Zone, Watts would ask her if she could. It might just save his life.

Watts cast a worried glance over at Zone's tent. He hadn't left it all night. When Watts had looked in on him a while ago, he'd been sleeping, albeit fitfully. If he was still out of it when Watts went to take his turn at watch, he'd try and wake him up, just to make sure he was all right and simply over tired. If it was something worse…. well, as much as he'd hate to interrupt Squall and Rinoa's rest or… _whatever_ …he would do so in order to get her to help his brother and their friend.

The only reason that he could think of as to why Rinoa hadn't offered to heal Zone yet was perhaps because she wasn't truly aware of how ill he was. Well, it was beginning to look as though Zone couldn't hide it any longer. Watts had to talk to Rinoa, before things got worse for Zone. Squall might not necessarily like Watts butting in on their private time, and Watts really didn't feel right about keeping him in the dark about Zone's issues either, but he'd do what he had to in order to help Zone.

He knew now that Squall had to be able to count on everyone on his team to be healthy and able to act. If they weren't, then he needed to know about it so that they could be taken care of. One weak link, one person that was unable to perform an assigned duty could mean disaster for them all. Zone hadn't thought about that, and neither had Watts, not until he'd spent more time in Squall's company and learned a bit more about how the mercenary thought.

Zone's perception of Squall as being cold and merciless, scorning weakness, was somewhat skewed by their first meeting and Zone's embarrassment at having a flare up at a crucial moment. Squall's reaction had been one of scorn based upon what he'd seen. He had not been made aware of the cause for Zone's perceived cowardice. While he didn't think Squall would actually be _compassionate_ toward Zone's plight, he also didn't think he would be quite as heartless as Zone thought he'd be. Cold logic would dictate that if someone was unable to perform a duty, then whatever issue, whether it be physical, mental or equipment related, must be dealt with so that they could. And logic was what Squall mainly operated on, with the exception perhaps being his relationship with Rinoa.

Watts would however, keep Zone's secret awhile longer. Once Rinoa had healed him, it would no longer be an issue and Squall wouldn't have to know.


	14. Fortitude

Angelo's soft growl woke Squall out of a light sleep. He'd spent what felt like hours simply holding Rinoa as she slept, listening to her breaths and her soft snores. He'd thought briefly that the snoring might actually be coming from the dog, but upon leaning closer to Rinoa, he'd confirmed the snores were hers. He'd smiled gently in amusement at discovering that little peculiarity. It was very soft, barely audible. But Squall could hear it.

Fatigue, Rinoa's warmth, and the oddly comforting drone of her soft snoring combined to lull Squall into a light doze. Angelo's growl woke him however, and he was instantly alert and reaching for his gunblade.

A scratch at the front of his tent and a whispered, "Squall, second watch," told him who had awakened him and why. He yawned and stretched, tightening his arm where it lay across Rinoa's abdomen, and gave her a light, sweet kiss.

She stirred as his movements disturbed her, and mumbled sleepily, "where you goin'?"

"My turn at watch," Squall whispered, crawling out of their shared blankets and grabbing his boots and socks. "Go on and go back to sleep," he added.

Rinoa sighed, " 'kay," and burrowed deeper into the blankets, snuggling her face firmly into the rolled bundle of Squall's jacket that acted as their pillow.

Squall smiled briefly over at her before working his way carefully out of the small tent. Angelo, seeing an opportunity, moved to occupy the still warm space that Squall had vacated. Squall snorted at that and left the tent. He zipped the flaps closed and stretched before bending down to finish tying his boots.

Straightening up, he asked in a whisper, "anything?"

"No. All quiet. Not even a packrat to bother us." The young man Squall was relieving answered him.

"Good." Squall replied. The young man nodded and headed back to his tent while Squall made his way toward the perimeter of the camp, studying the grouped tents and the general area as he did.

The hunter's moon rode high and bright in the sky as Squall patrolled the forest, trees obscuring the moonlight but not enough for Squall to have difficulties. Crickets, frogs and night birds made their nightly noises, serenading Squall as he paced the camp's perimeter.

A blood-chilling screech had Squall's head snapping around in time to see an owl leap from a nearby tree branch and flap silently away. He rested Lion Heart's blade back onto his shoulder, its eerie blue light adding to the silvery moonlight, and continued on his patrol.

He slipped quietly through the brush, all senses alert. Not only for monsters but also for the unlikely event that a Galbadian patrol should stumble across their camp. While he was fairly confident that there weren't any nearby, he wasn't about to trust that they'd completely managed to avoid them. He hadn't been able to get back into the Timber Maniacs offices to double-check the garrison's assigned patrol schedules and routes.

It was entirely possible that a change had been made that Squall hadn't been able to catch.

Fortunately, while there _was_ some quiet grumbling about the necessity for taking turns at guard, there wasn't a great deal of it. Squall supposed that it didn't hurt that he was taking a turn along with everyone else, but truthfully, he didn't mind it. Aside from having his sleep interrupted, Squall actually rather liked padding through the forest at night.

It gave him the opportunity to challenge his senses, to identify the different creatures that populated the area by sound alone, to train his vision to see even in the dark. It allowed him to see, hear, and smell plants and animals that one could not see by daylight.

Coming upon the spring, he saw one such plant near the pool where he'd washed up earlier that evening. They had just been starting to open when he'd been there last; now that the night was well advanced, the moonvine flowers were fully opened. The large white blooms, each the size of his hand, seemed to glow with their own radiance. Their light, sweet perfume added to the freshness of the spring. Squall inhaled the scent as the night breathed around him, and thought of Rinoa. The floral scent more than a little reminiscent of the sweetness that always seemed to hang about her.

He wondered what sort of message Rinoa would derive from one of those white blooms, should he give one to her. White, with just a blush of pink, typically meant innocence, Squall thought. Or perhaps first love? Pure love? Maybe Rinoa would simply take such a gesture at face value. He pondered that for a moment.

Still, knowing what he did now about what certain flowers meant, Squall would never give Rinoa a bouquet of belladonna, no matter how beautiful the flower was.

Something crashing through the underbrush toward the spring put Squall on alert and he went on guard, waiting for whatever it was. If the creature crashing toward him didn't alter its course, it would run right into Squall's gunblade. With that thought in mind, Squall firmed up his stance, balancing his weight evenly upon both feet.

The crashing grew louder and Squall tightened his grip on his gunblade. Then the cause of the disturbance all but stumbled from the brush and nearly met the tip of Squall's weapon, stopping with a gasp.

Zone stared wide-eyed at the glowing blue-white gunblade that threw its wielder into shadow by its brilliance, and swallowed at how close its razor-sharp tip was to his throat. Already shaky and sick with fever, Zone held back a shiver by sheer will and raised his eyes to meet Squall's. Or he tried to, at any rate. Despite being bathed in moonlight, the SeeD was still hard to see, owing to the light from his weapon.

Silence stretched, and Zone suddenly wanted to laugh. Despite the fact that they were _supposed_ to be allies, Squall's blade remained leveled steadily at Zone's throat and did not waver. The guy really didn't trust _anyone._

Licking at his dry lips and thinking longingly of the cool water just steps away, Zone finally said, "If you're going to kill me, do me a favor and just get it over with."

"Your watch is in four hours. Why are you out here now?" Squall challenged.

"Water. I drained my bottle and I need more." Zone answered. Then he frowned at the mention of his watch. _Damn it Watts! Why didn't you tell me?_ Then he shivered as a chill struck him, and figured Watts had decided to cover for him when it appeared obvious that Zone wouldn't be able to do it.

Suddenly, Squall whipped the gunblade away from Zone's throat and rested it back onto his shoulder. Zone blinked at the swift movement, and waited for his eyes to readjust to the dimmer moonlight. Squall was easier to see now that the blade wasn't dazzling Zone's eyes, so it was easier to see him nod toward the spring, silently permitting him to approach it.

As he did, he looked back over his shoulder saying, "You don't need to watch me, if you've got better things to do."

"I don't. Unless you'd rather I left you for the wolves, bears, and monsters." Squall said.

Zone swallowed, hating how his knees felt weak, how he felt both hot and cold by turns. It was all he could do not to collapse next to the spring once he got there. As it was, he had to brace himself so he wouldn't fall over completely. He began to worry if, once he'd finished refilling his water bottle; he would be able to get back up again. Still, he was damned if he was going to ask Squall to nursemaid him.

"I have a gun," Zone informed him staunchly, hoping Squall would take the hint and leave him alone. Of course, as shaky as he was, Zone couldn't guarantee that he'd actually _hit_ anything he shot at… but Squall didn't need to know that.

"Do you know how to use it?" Squall asked him coolly.

Finished with refilling the bottle, Zone gave into temptation and splashed the cool water onto his face, shivering violently as the chill cooled his fever.

"Yes. I may not be a killer like you, but I can shoot." Zone said.

The silence that swallowed that statement made Zone's skin prickle. He was suddenly afraid to look up; sure he'd see that blade leveled at him again.

"You'll have to learn sometime." Squall finally said. Zone slowly looked up to see Squall watching him but with the blade still resting easily upon his shoulder.

"If its all the same to you, I'd rather wait until I have no other choice." Zone replied.

"It may be too late then." Squall said seriously. "If you freeze or hesitate, it's all over."

Zone's stomach clenched, and he gritted his teeth against the groan that threatened to come out despite his efforts. Squeezing his eyes shut briefly, he tried to breathe through the pain.

Swallowing convulsively, he managed, "if you act too fast, if you don't take time to think, you live to regret it."

"Then learn to think faster. Or learn to live with regret." Squall countered.

"Is that what you do?" Zone ground out.

Squall frowned. What was the guy's problem, anyway? He couldn't tell much in the dim light, but something about Zone seemed…off.

"It's one of the first things you learn as a leader. If you don't know it now, you'll have to learn it too eventually." Squall said.

"Thanks, but I'll pass." Zone said, trying to find the strength to stand up. Clenching his teeth, he made a concentrated effort to stand, wavering slightly as he reached his feet. He took a deep breath and steadied. He turned and started to leave the spring when Squall's voice stopped him.

"If you think you can get through this, accomplish what we're trying to accomplish, without getting your hands dirty, you're mistaken. Sooner or later, we all get blood on our hands." Squall told him flatly.

"Hyne you're a cold-blooded bastard. How can Rinoa stand you?" Zone spat, pain flaring in his midsection. A cold sweat started to form on his brow and Zone shuddered convulsively. He fought the urge to collapse and curl around his aching stomach by sucking in a deep breath and gritting his teeth.

Squall didn't answer that, instead choosing to ignore the personal attack in favor of the point he was trying to make.

It didn't stop the warm rush of anger that deepened his voice into a growl however, as he stalked toward Zone, "I told you before there would be blood. There will be killing. People will die. People you know. People you love. You _cannot_ sit this out and simply be the leader; you don't have enough people to do that. Besides, I personally would not respect a leader that is unwilling to fight alongside his people and do what must be done. If you don't have the guts to fight, then _grow_ some! You need to toughen up, otherwise this whole operation is a fucking waste of time!"

Zone stared as Squall delivered his scathing diatribe, nausea burning his stomach and making his eyes water from the pain. He clenched his teeth against the urge to double over, groan and throw up, his own anger starting to simmer, adding to the roiling in his guts.

"Fuck you Leonhart!" He gritted out. "You want guts? I'll show you guts!" It was too much. The fever, the pain, and now _this_ ; people he knew, people he loved, had _already_ died. And he'd _been_ fighting. Fighting for _years_. Anger gave him strength to push past pain and ignore, momentarily, the weakness brought on by fever. Heedless of the probable results, he let the anger carry him forward and he flung his fist at Squall's coldly remote visage.

Squall saw the punch coming, could have seen it from a mile away, and already had a counter ready. He didn't even bother to try and put Lion Heart down, instead leaving it resting upon his shoulder. All he had to do was to shift to the side to avoid Zone's attack and let his body direct the low punch to Zone's midsection. Zone's own momentum would carry him into the blow. But as Squall watched Zone's reaction, the way he moved as he readied the punch, his sense that something wasn't right intensified. His eyes were too bright. His movements, driven by anger, were nonetheless too uncoordinated.

At the last moment when he would have let his body power the punch into Zone's guts, something in the back of Squall's mind screamed at him to stop. Squall instead checked the blow and pulled it back while simultaneously avoiding Zone's punch. It didn't stop Zone from running into Squall's fist anyway.

Squall frowned as Zone doubled over with a strangled cry and collapsed into a crumpled heap, clutching at his stomach while moaning and retching. Even with Zone's momentum carrying him into Squall's fist, it hadn't been enough of a blow to put him on the ground. It _shouldn't_ have been anyway. The light went out as Squall sheathed Lion Heart and removed his gloves, stepping closer to Zone and kneeling down to peer closely at him.

"What's the matter with you?" Squall asked, studying him carefully. Zone lay still, panting, and Squall could see sweat on his face, and convulsive tremors as he shivered.

"F-fuck you," Zone managed weakly.

Squall's frown deepened and he replied shortly, "Not interested." Zone froze in shock as Squall suddenly laid the back of his hand against the side of his face, his touch surprisingly gentle.

"You're fevered." Squall stated, eyes growing cold again as he asked, "I'll ask you again: what's wrong with you?"

Swallowing, Zone took a deep breath and finally answered, "I have a… an ulcer."

"Ulcers don't usually include fevers, unless something else is happening." Squall stated, then demanded angrily, "why didn't you tell me?"

"Didn't think you'd believe me." Zone said, closing his eyes and sighing. He felt like complete and utter shit, and was facing the mortifying possibility of having _Squall_ of all people have to _carry_ him back to his tent. All things considered, he was rather wishing he'd stumbled into the damned gunblade and impaled himself on it.

"This is unacceptable. You should have told me you weren't feeling well. Your stupidity could have cost lives. What if we needed you and you were too sick to help?" Squall asked, glaring down at Zone with his arms crossed firmly over his chest.

"Thought I could handle it. Been dealing with it for months now." Zone answered.

"Well, it's obviously getting worse." Squall said. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial.

"Drink this." He ordered, offering it to Zone. "I don't have enough cure spells to waste on you."

Zone eyed the vial, knowing it for a healing potion, then glanced up and met Squall's eyes. Squall simply waited, expressionless, while Zone slowly reached out and took the potion, uncapped it and drank down the contents. Then he lay back and closed his eyes, sighing as the potion began to work, putting out the fire in his guts and cooling his fever. He breathed deeply, laying his hand over his abdomen as the pain gradually faded and finally ceased. Zone opened his eyes to find Squall still watching him.

"Thank you." He said, moving to sit up, feeling more relieved than he could ever describe to have the pain that he'd lived with for far too long finally gone.

Squall nodded and stood up. "Go back to your tent and go to sleep. You need to be rested for your turn at watch."

Zone glanced up at him and nodded, then got to his feet. He rubbed at his stomach again, confirming that nothing hurt and immensely relieved by it. He picked up his water bottle and prepared to leave, then paused.

Squall had turned away, his attention directed out toward the darkness beyond the trees. Zone had the sense that staring into the darkness was something Squall did a lot. It made him wonder what might be watching them, and he suppressed a shiver. Squall however, didn't turn a hair. What sort of person could gaze into the black abyss and not fear what may be there, looking back at them?

Finally he said, "I still don't know what Rinoa sees in you."

Without turning around, Squall replied, "Neither do I."

Zone blinked and frowned, not expecting that response. He opened his mouth, and then shut it, unable to reply to that. Finally he turned and left, not bothering to wish Squall a good night. He already knew that nicety would be ignored.

Squall heard Zone leave but did not turn around. Instead, he directed his attention to the moonvine flowers, stepping closer to drink in another draught of their perfume. It was true; he _didn't_ know what Rinoa saw in him, what had attracted her to him, or why she loved him. He hadn't done anything special to his reckoning. He certainly hadn't set out to win her heart. Unlike Zone however, he didn't feel the need to analyze the why of it.

It just was. She loved him, and he loved her. And if he hadn't done anything special to earn it, aside from saving her life a time or two, then at least he was comfortable with knowing that she loved him for who he was. What that said about _her_ , that she should love a heartless mercenary, a killer, he didn't know.

Of course, the fact that he was able to recognize and return that love, argued that perhaps he wasn't quite so heartless as some, including himself, might think. And it was obvious that Rinoa saw something in him that was not immediately apparent to anyone else, something beyond the surface perception that everyone else saw.

Suddenly, his lips curled into a slight smile and he reached out, picking one of the blooms and bringing it up to his face, sniffing at it. Twirling the flower in his fingers, he resumed his patrol of the camp's perimeter, feeling slightly silly at the notion that had sprung to life in his mind. He wondered what Rinoa would think of the flower, and of the gesture behind it. He couldn't wait to see the expression on her face when he gave it to her.  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When they struck camp the next morning, Rinoa was wearing a white flower in her hair, tucked behind her ear. Zone wondered if she'd managed to pick one of the white moonflowers before the sun came up.

"You look much better this morning." Watts observed.

Zone shrugged, " I feel much better." He returned his attention to the chocobo that they were riding, adjusting its harness and making sure the packs were secured. Watts had encountered him as he'd patrolled the camp's perimeter, staring at him in surprise then urging him to go back to his tent.

His jaw had dropped open in shock when Zone relayed his earlier encounter with Squall, and the healing draught that Squall had ordered him to take. It had provided both with more than enough to think about as the night advanced toward morning.

Rinoa meanwhile had taken it upon herself to get their chocobo harnessed and packed up while Squall was busy directing the organized chaos that came from several people doing the same thing all at once. She smiled gently to herself as she remembered his return from his patrol of the camp.

It was impossible for him to enter their tiny tent without waking her, and she'd stretched and sighed, laughing softly as Angelo reluctantly abandoned his position at her side.

Squall meanwhile; unsure of what to do with the flower while he got ready to return to Rinoa's warmth, finally simply stuck the stem in his mouth while he unbuckled his belts and took his boots off. When Rinoa switched the flashlight on, aiming the beam upward to avoid blinding Squall, she couldn't help laughing at the image he presented.

"I'm sorry Squall," she gasped. "But you look just adorable with that flower in your mouth!"

"Humph!" He grunted, glaring at her, but not removing the flower from his mouth. Instead, he crawled up the tent until he was positioned above her.

Finally removing it from his mouth, he explained, "I needed both of my hands, and didn't want to crush it." Then he tapped her gently on the nose with it and added, "I thought you might like it." Rinoa's heart melted in that moment and she took it from him and breathed in its sweet fragrance.

She smiled radiantly and Squall's own smile began to steal over his face. The gesture in itself was a small one, but for someone like Squall it was a huge step; one that he'd taken without any prompting from her, a fact that made Rinoa's heart flutter. It was unexpectedly sweet, and it made Rinoa fall a little deeper in love with him. And the shy smile that he gave her as he saw her response was just too precious for words.

Reaching up, she brushed the soft petals against his cheek and whispered, "I love it. And I love _you_."

He bent down then and gave her a gentle, lingering kiss, one that made her ache for more as he shifted his positioning to lie down next to her and cuddle close under their bedding.

As his arms came around her and pulled her close, Rinoa gasped, "Hyne! You're freezing! Why didn't you wear your jacket?" Instead of pulling away, she burrowed closer, pressing herself against him and letting her warmth seep into him through his clothing. Squall kissed her softly on the forehead, appreciating her efforts and relaxing as her body warmed his.

Finally he reached up and caressed her face, whispering, " It was doing double duty as your pillow, remember?"

Rinoa laughed softly, "Oh, right. Sorry about that."

"It's okay." Squall replied softly, reaching for the flashlight to turn it off.

Before he did however, Rinoa gasped, "Wait! I don't want it to wilt!" Squall frowned in confusion for a moment before Rinoa grabbed a water bottle and opened it, sticking the flower inside. He opened his mouth to say something about it, thinking about a chance bump spilling the water all over their bedding, but Rinoa then got up and quickly looped the carry strap over the tent pole outside.

"There," she said, burrowing into the bedroll again, cuddling close and giving Squall a quick, soft kiss on the lips. "Now it'll stay pretty."

"You know it'll wilt eventually." Squall said practically.

Rinoa smiled sweetly and turned off the flashlight, letting the darkness envelop them. It felt more intimate that way, more romantic, at least to Rinoa's way of thinking.

"I know," Rinoa said, letting her fingers trace the contours of his face before finally using them to guide her lips to his, kissing him again. "But it'll stay pretty for a little while longer at least. And when it dies, you can get me another one."

"Oh." Squall said, caressing her hair as she laid her head on his chest. "Go on back to sleep now."

"Okay," Rinoa whispered, yawning.

Just before she dropped off to sleep, Squall kissed her hair lightly and whispered, "I love you too."

She had slept wonderfully the remainder of the night, wrapped in Squall's strong arms and sharing his warmth, and she hoped that he had managed to as well. She couldn't tell, unfortunately, because as usual, he was up and working long before her. But the moment they'd shared earlier had left her feeling a fizzy sort of buoyant happiness. Inappropriate for the time and place perhaps, but Rinoa was of the opinion that one should appreciate such small moments of beauty and joy when one encountered them.

Like when her sweetheart presented her with a pretty flower for no other reason than he'd thought she'd like it.

Finally she finished harnessing the chocobo and patted its beak before approaching the knot of people that had Squall at its center.

"We'll split off into two groups," Squall was saying as Rinoa joined him. "Zone will lead one, I will lead the other. Kestrel and Shrike, you're with me."

Pulling out a map, Squall motioned Zone over and showed him the area that he intended to hunt, suggesting, "split off in that direction, and see what you guys can get. We'll meet in the middle, here, at sunset." Squall indicated a point midway between the two areas, and gave Zone the coordinates.

Glancing up and around at the gathering, Squall asked, "Is everyone ready?" At their collective nods, he added, "Good, let's go."

Everyone dispersed to their mounts, and Squall turned toward the chocobo that he and Rinoa would be riding, catching her eye as he did.

"You look tired, didn't you rest?" Rinoa asked him, concerned.

"I rested, I just didn't sleep well." Squall said, squeezing her hand when she slipped it into his, caressing the smooth leather that encased it.

Rinoa bit her lip, looking worried, saying, "If you aren't rested and on your game, you'll get hurt… is that what happened yesterday?"

Squall stopped when he reached their chocobo, frowning down at her, considering. Perhaps he _had_ been a little off-kilter, out of synch; that was the only reason he could think of that would explain the misstep that resulted in his injury. But he wasn't going to blame it on Rinoa. It was _his_ problem, not hers.

Rinoa meanwhile had wrapped her arms around herself and said softly, "Maybe I shouldn't have come…"

"No. You need to be here. You're part of this, more than I am." Squall grasped her shoulders gently, adding, "It's getting better. I _am_ sleeping, just not well."

"Maybe we shouldn't share a tent then, if it's so difficult for you," Rinoa said, looking down at her feet and sighing.

Squall's frown deepened and he released Rinoa's shoulders, gently placing his finger underneath her chin and urging her to lift her eyes to meet his. How could he explain to her that while he wasn't completely at ease with her in the close confines of his tent, her presence was… _comforting?_ Her warmth, the smell of her hair, her breaths, even her soft snores…they lulled him. Relaxed him. Brought him peace, when sometimes even his own mind wouldn't. Maybe he wasn't relaxed enough or comfortable enough to fall completely asleep with her; not yet, but he was getting there. He just needed time.

"No. Rin. That won't solve anything. I…I want you there. With me. This is _my_ problem, and I'll get used to... being with you… eventually. It's already getting easier." He reassured her.

"But…I don't want you to get hurt again." Rinoa said earnestly.

"I'll be fine. I just got sloppy. It won't happen again." Squall said.

Rinoa swallowed and held his gaze, seeing the firm resolve there. No, he wouldn't let it happen again, she was sure of that. Finally, she nodded.

"Okay?" he asked her. She nodded again.

"Good." he said, kissing her lightly. "Let's get going."

He turned and vaulted up onto their chocobo, reaching down and pulling her up to sit in front of him. Then he grasped her hips firmly to steady her while she called Angelo and the dog leaped up onto Rinoa's lap.

He slid his arms around her briefly and hugged her close, then loosened his hold and looked around at everyone on their chocobos, ready to go and waiting for his command.

"Let's move out!" He ordered, setting his heels to his bird and urging it to move. The rest of the hunting party followed suit.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Zone and his party split off from Squall's at the agreed upon coordinates, and Squall left a marker there. If they couldn't meet at the coordinates that they'd agreed upon, this would be the backup.

Squall and his party continued toward the Obel Lake region, with Squall ordering the twins to scout ahead. They trotted off on their chocobo, and while Squall wasn't as enamored of the big birds as perhaps Selphie or Rinoa were, he _did_ have to admire the one that Kestrel and Shrike rode.

It was obviously the best of their stock, a racing bird if Squall had ever seen one. Taller, leaner, and longer of leg than the wild-caught birds, it was an unusual iridescent black color. He'd only heard of such a rare coloration, but until now had never seen one.

Sunlight sparked on the glossy black feathers, throwing off hints of green, violet and blue as the bird moved and the light shifted over its body. Its beak was more sharply hooked than the wild birds as well. When coupled with its ruby red eyes, the steel-colored hooked bill gave it a more predatory look than one normally saw in a chocobo.

The chocobo's uniqueness certainly had caught Rinoa's attention. She had been full of questions for the twins about it, and as a result Squall had learned far more about chocobo breeding second hand than he'd ever wanted to know.

As the bird paced gracefully away with the twins aboard, Rinoa sighed, "Wow, he's gorgeous, isn't he?"

Squall nodded, agreeing with her, adding, "fast too."

The bird was already fading into the trees far ahead, its black coloring blending it into the shadows perfectly. From a tactical standpoint, the bird would be perfect for any night maneuvers, as it would be well nigh invisible in the dark. Its speed would make it highly useful as a courier mount as well. Squall wished they had several such birds at their disposal, but unfortunately its rarity precluded that.

They continued into the thick forest, alert to any sign of the quarry they sought. They fell silent as they scanned the area, and Rinoa had dispatched Angelo to track their prey as well.

The brothers returned as swiftly as they had left and reported seeing some elk sign that pointed toward multiple animals, possibly a small herd of cows. They halted where they were and dismounted, everyone preparing his or her weapons in anticipation of the hunt to come.

After a low-voiced discussion, it was decided that Kestrel would lead one portion of their group and Shrike the other. The idea was to flank the herd, if herd it was, and bring down as many animals as they could before it fled. Squall was hoping for at least three more elk to round out what they already had. It was the maximum number they could get and still be able to pack it all back to Timber.

When they reached the evidence their quarry had left behind, Shrike knelt down and motioned Rinoa over.

Pointing to the tracks, he asked, "Could you set your dog to tracking this?"

Rinoa nodded, "Sure." Then she whistled for Angelo and commanded him to track.

Shrike paused to string his bow and then set out after Angelo, motioning for Squall and the rest of their party to follow.

They all trailed along in Angelo's wake as he led them on a twisting path through the forest. He ran ahead of them, nose glued to the ground, while everyone did their best to keep up. Rinoa finally called him back at Shrike's suggestion. He worried that the dog would flush the elk from cover before they were ready for them.

For the remainder of their stalk she held onto his collar, doing her best to keep her balance as the dog whined softly and pulled against her grasp. They kept their steps light, as light as possible as they drifted through the forest, until they came to a clearing. There in the midst of it grazed a small herd of elk cows with a few half-grown calves.

They all paused and studied the herd. The cows were in good flesh, the calves well grown. Silently, they selected their targets and readied their weapons. Silently, without any discussion, they fired upon the herd. Three cows fell, the rest fled.

They had just started toward their kills when a thunderous roar, accompanied by a sudden earthquake, froze everyone in their tracks.

Shrike, Rinoa and the remaining members of the hunting party gazed wildly about, with Shrike saying, "Please tell me that's not what it sounds like."

Squall, whose eyes had narrowed as he'd heard the approaching monster, confirmed, "It is."

"How's that even possible? I didn't think there were any on this continent!" Shrike exclaimed, eyes widening, as the roaring grew louder and the tremors, stronger.

Calmly readying his gunblade while casting protect and Aura upon himself, Squall asked Shrike coolly, "You want me to ask it?"

"N-no…wait, what are you doing? Are you crazy?" Shrike asked, staring as Squall rested his gunblade on his shoulder and walked toward the clearing.

Rinoa ran to catch up to him, asking, "What do you want me to do?"

"Cast silence and blind. Back me up." Squall answered.

"Alright." Rinoa nodded, falling into step beside him.

"You guys may want to stay back." Squall called back over his shoulder to Shrike and the rest of their party.

The dinosaur burst into the clearing in the next instant with a hungry rumble, its keen sense of smell guiding it unerringly toward the downed elk. It pounced on the nearest carcass ravenously, devouring it in two huge bites.

"Rin," Squall said quietly, seeing an advantage and seizing it. "Cast blind now."

Rinoa nodded and cast the spell, while Squall cast silence as well, disabling the monster's ability to use elemental magic. The dinosaur reared its head up as the spells took effect, roaring and lashing out with its tail. Squall charged in then, slashing at the monster with his gunblade, ducking under its snapping jaws to slice open its vulnerable underbelly.

The T-rexaur roared its rage and pain as it bit blindly at its assailant. Squall dodged the monster's attack easily while summoning Bahamut, reflecting that he should have attacked as aggressively when fighting the wendigo. Lessons learned however made _this_ battle a far different one.

Bahamut swooped down and blasted the dinosaur with his mega flare attack, challenging, _"YOU SHALL NOT EVADE ME THIS TIME, FOOLISH CREATURE!"_

The reptile snapped at the empty air, staggering under the fiery onslaught as it tried to counter its unseen attacker. It tilted its head as it heard Squall charging in for another attack and immediately whipped its tail around. Squall ducked the attack just in the nick of time and hacked at the monster's tough hide again.

"Rin! Cast meltdown!" Squall panted, ducking away from the dinosaur's jaws as it bit at him, its sense of smell making it more accurate in its attacks.

"Right!" She said and cast the spell, further weakening the monster.

Backing off for a moment to gather his energy, Squall prepared for his final attack, summoning all of his power and pouring it into Lion Heart until the blade brightened to a blinding blue-white sword of light. Then he charged, bringing the gunblade back. When he reached the dinosaur the blade flashed out like a lightning strike, the blow so fast that it left a thunderclap behind and cleaved the unfortunate creature right in two.

The T-rex collapsed with a dying moan, while Squall shouldered his gunblade and strode back to where Shrike and the rest of the hunting party stood staring, jaws agape.

Shrike sputtered for a moment then demanded, "Why the hell didn't you do that with the wendigo?"

Squall grimaced ruefully while wiping off his gunblade and putting it away, saying, "I should have. I hate those little bastards."

Squall turned away and surveyed his handiwork, while Shrike muttered behind him, "unbelievable."

They now had two dead elk and one _very_ dead t-rex to deal with. They had their work cut out for them. Squall narrowed his eyes and studied the dinosaur, then pulled his gunblade out again and rested it on his shoulder. There was no way a regular skinning knife would work on the t-rex. He'd have to use his gunblade. He hated the thought of using his cherished weapon on such a mundane task, but he'd already just about butchered the poor creature with it anyway. He just needed to finish the job.

Starting determinedly toward the monster, Squall said, "You guys deal with the elk. I'll take care of this." Then he added, "Hope you guys don't mind adding dino-burgers to the menu…"

Shrike stared after him, and asked Rinoa, "is he serious?" Rinoa nodded.

Sighing, Shrike looked at everyone else and said, "Let's get to work."


	15. In Darkest Knight...

It took them the remainder of the day and into the night to deal with their kills. Squall in fact finally sent Kestrel on his chocobo to meet Zone and his party at their prearranged coordinates to bring them back to help with the butchering and storage process. Rinoa exhausted herself with freezing all of the meat, literally tons of it; while Squall hacked away at the dinosaur's carcass, carving it up with his gunblade the best he could.

Everyone ended the day worn out and filthy, with all of their coolers stuffed full of frozen elk and dinosaur meat. They had more than enough now to take back to Timber, and in fact would have to leave a large portion of the t-rexaur meat behind.

Zone, seeing Squall's dull-eyed fatigue, took charge of getting camp for the evening set up. It was not surprising really when one took into account how heavy the gunblade was and how many times Squall had to swing it to cut up the dinosaur. It left Zone grudgingly impressed with the SeeD's wiry strength.

More fresh meat on the fire served as their dinner, and everyone ate hungrily, their labors sharpening their appetites.

As he had done the previous night, Squall spent several minutes by the fire, carefully cleaning and sharpening his gunblade, ignoring his own fatigue to take care of his weapon first. Unfortunately, honing a blade as sharp as Lion Heart could have painful consequences if one was _too_ tired, a fact that Squall was reminded of when a chance slip of the honing stone cost him a gashed palm.

"Fuck." He said dully, staring at the blood welling from the cut.

The expletive, spoken in a flat, exhausted voice, somehow still managed to wake Rinoa, who had fallen asleep with her head resting against Squall's shoulder.

"Let me see," she said, taking his hand. He didn't protest or resist, and Rinoa took a deep breath to see if she had enough energy to cast a low-level healing spell. It wasn't a bad cut, but it was in an awkward spot and was fairly deep. Infection was a real possibility, considering how dirty Squall had gotten while butchering the t-rex.

Biting her lip, Rinoa closed her eyes and concentrated on the injury, willing the severed flesh to bind itself back together, the flowing blood to return to the tiny capillaries that it was spilling from. A tiny spark of blue light appeared in the palm of Squall's hand, overlaying the injury as Rinoa's magic healed it.

Squall sighed as the pain, which he'd just become aware of (he was so tired, and his gunblade so sharp, it had taken a minute for it to register), faded away along with the injury. Rinoa gently ran her thumb over his palm, wiping blood away and verifying that the cut was indeed healed.

Squall curled his fingers around her thumb, squeezing it gently. Rinoa shifted her hand to thread her fingers through his and squeezed back.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"You're welcome. We should probably both go to bed. I don't know about you but _I'm_ exhausted." Rinoa said.

Squall nodded. Just about everyone else had done the same, drifting off to their tents almost immediately after dinner. Conversation had been low-voiced and infrequent, the hard work having taken a toll on everyone. Rinoa and Squall had been left to themselves by the fireside as a result; a state of affairs that relieved Squall. He was too tired to even _attempt_ being social.

"So am I." Squall admitted, adding with a grimace, "I'm so filthy though I don't even want to come near you. I can't even stand _myself_." He stood and reached down to take Rinoa's hand, helping her to her feet.

"I'm just as dirty." Rinoa said. She slipped her arm around his waist as they headed toward their tent in defiance of his pronouncement.

"That doesn't make it any better," Squall said, thinking about their shared bedding, and what they'd be tracking into it, and shuddering. Rinoa smiled gently at that, finding his fastidiousness both amusing and endearing.

"I could try a water spell," Rinoa offered. There wasn't any free-flowing water nearby, much to Squall's dismay, so his options to clean up were very limited.

"You sure you're up to it? I know your control has improved, but you worked easily as hard as I did. Last time you tried it you nearly drowned me." Squall said.

"We'll be fine. I'll call it in the trees, so they'll get a bit of benefit from it too." Rinoa said once they reached their tent. She ducked in briefly to get a change of clothes and a few other needed items for them both before altering their direction and leading him toward a thick copse of trees.

"We?" Squall asked her.

"I need to clean up too." Rinoa said.

"Oh." Squall said. If he hadn't been so tired, he'd have found the idea to be more than a little intriguing. He set that thought aside for a later time, preferably one that involved hot water and a shower. Instead, he simply removed his dirty clothing and set it aside.

Of course, watching Rinoa do the same thing had a predictable effect on him, and he swallowed, his racing blood beginning to drive away his fatigue. Her knowing smile however held a tinge of regret as she handed him a cloth and the soap, then cast the water spell with a flare of golden light from her eyes as she invoked her power.

She concentrated upon the flow of power, controlling it and forming the water into raindrops, sprinkling them both gently rather than drenching them in a deluge like she'd done in the past. It was hard, concentrating on the spell while being simultaneously doused in cold water, and Squall's gasp as the water struck him echoed hers.

Shivering, he managed to comment, "Too bad you haven't figured out how to cast a _hot_ water spell." He quickly soaped up and offered the cloth to Rinoa, who did the same thing and then surprised him by moving closer and washing his back.

"I'm working on that." Rinoa said, teeth chattering. Squall took the cloth back from her and turned her around, returning the favor and washing her back as well.

The gentle spray rinsed them both clean, and Squall, tempted beyond endurance, finally moved in close and wrapped his arms around Rinoa from behind, kissing the side of her neck gently, making her shiver. Cold water notwithstanding, the warmth and feel of her in his arms was igniting his desire once again.

Then the golden light in her eyes flickered and died, the rain stopped, and Rinoa slumped limply in his arms.

"Rin?" Squall gasped, gulping. He shifted his hold on her to turn her to face him and patted at her face, fear beginning to tighten his stomach.

He eyes fluttered open and she whispered, "S…sorry… so tired..." Squall sighed in relief, then frowned, wondering how to deal with the fact that they were both naked and wet in the middle of the forest. And Rinoa so tired she had practically collapsed on him.

"I know. But I need you to stand up for a moment, I can't do this with one hand," Squall said, reaching for a towel Rinoa had brought while trying to keep her steady at the same time. She managed, swaying and holding onto his shoulder, while he finally got the towel and dried her off, then helped her get dressed. He did the same for himself, dressing quickly.

Then he bundled their dirty clothing and other things together and handed the bundle to Rinoa, telling her, "Hold this." Bending down, he picked her up in his arms and carried her to their tent.

It was tricky, getting her mostly limp form into the tent, but Rinoa wasn't so far gone that she couldn't help. She crawled forward, lay down and shifted until she was comfortable, and was asleep in moments. Squall joined her, pulling their bedding up and tucking it about her, then cuddling close, his own eyes drifting shut as their shared body warmth began to relax him. Exhaustion caught up with him then and dragged him forcibly into sleep.  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

It was a subdued group that struck camp the following morning, everyone moving slowly and stiffly owing to the hard work that they had put in. They packed up and ate breakfast, with Squall keeping one eye on the overcast sky. Clouds had rolled in during the night, and it left him wondering if they'd be traveling back to Timber in the rain.

Rinoa circulated among all of the chocobos, checking their cargo and keeping it frozen with the judicial use of ice magic.

Once everything was judged ready, they mounted up and began their journey back to Timber.

Despite their burdens, it was thought that the chocobos could get them back to Timber by that evening. They wouldn't have to stop to hunt, and they really hadn't traveled nearly as far as they'd thought they would have to. If they pushed, they could make it by nightfall.

Both Zone and Watts were in agreement about doing exactly that, both possessed with the same sense of urgency Squall had. They'd been too many days in the field; there was no telling what may have happened in Timber while they were gone. While Squall was confident that Zell and Selphie could handle anything that might arise in his absence, it felt too much like he had abandoned them. He frowned slightly at that thought, shying away from examining it too closely.

They made good speed, with Kestrel and Shrike impressing Squall all over again at the pace their bird could make. He'd learned through Rinoa that they'd named it Skarn, and that it was a male. Why that was at all relevant he didn't know, but since they could just about run circles around everyone else on the thing, he set them to doing the scouting on the trip back.

The overcast morning gave way to a gloomy, rain-drenched afternoon, and Squall exchanged a rueful look with Rinoa as he recalled their improvised shower of the previous night.

"You want me to try the hot water spell _now?_ " Rinoa asked, eyes twinkling.

"I wish you would," Squall grumbled, shaking water from his eyes and hunching into his leather jacket. It was rapidly becoming soaked with water and lay like a clammy, sodden weight against his skin.

"You know Squawk, leather ain't no good for weather like this," Shrike pronounced, returning with Kestrel from their latest scout. "Wool's better. Keeps ya warm even when it's wet. Just like Kes' wife."

"Fuck you Shrike," Kestrel growled, to be echoed by Squall repeating for the umpteenth time, _"Squall!"_

"Hey man, I can't help it if your wife's too blind to tell us apart," Shrike shrugged.

"Asshole." Kestrel glared at him, punching Shrike's shoulder from where he sat behind him on the chocobo.

"Way to be articulate bro. And I thought _you_ were the smart one!" Shrike chided him, adding, "Wasn't my fault you passed out dead drunk and your wife misplaced her glasses."

"You could have told her!" Kestrel snapped angrily.

"Who says I didn't?" Shrike said, shrugging innocently, then he added smugly, "I'm sure she figured it out once we…"

"Shut up!" Kestrel punched Shrike again.

"I'm never going to one of Cousin Jimmy's parties again," he grumbled under his voice, prompting Shrike to laugh. He winked at Rinoa, who had both hands clapped over her mouth and her eyes watering with the effort not to laugh as well.

"Hey man, if it wasn't me, it would have been someone else. I told ya she wasn't no good." Shrike said with a shrug.

Kestrel growled something indistinct, and Squall echoed that with an equally venomous growl as he said, "I cannot stress to you _enough_ how little this interests me. Do you have anything _relevant_ to report from your _scout?"_

"Nope. Can't see shit in the rain." Shrike said helpfully.

Squall glanced over at Kestrel who shrugged and shook his head, sending water flying from the brim of his hat. Thunder rumbled and the sky grew even darker as the rain increased to a deluge.

"Well keep an eye out. We'll be heading into some trees soon so that should keep a little of the rain off us anyway." Squall said, and the brothers both nodded.

Directing his attention to the rest of the party, Squall raised his voice and said, "everyone stick close together and stay sharp. There shouldn't be anything dangerous out in this rain but stay alert anyway. It'll get harder to see once we're in the trees."

They entered the thick forest moments later, the gloom deepening as the tangled canopy blocked out what little light that made it through the charcoal colored storm clouds. It did screen some of the rain off of them, enough that the pounding raindrops were no longer beating them. Instead it pattered and hissed on the leaves and branches above and around them.

Squall twitched his shoulders uneasily as they trotted through the forest, thinking that if there were any Galbadians about, this would just about be the perfect set up for an ambush. The heavy rain would wash away any evidence of their passing, such that even the eagle-eyed brothers Shrike and Kestrel would have difficulty seeing it. Added to that was the generally gloomy, uncertain light and the ground fog that was rising as the cold rain drenched the warm loam around them.

The more Squall thought about it, the less he liked it, and was on the verge of calling a halt and finding another route, one that didn't feel so much like a trap.

Before he could however, hell broke loose.

A hail of gunfire erupted, sending several members of their party tumbling to the ground. A bullet whizzed past Squall so close he felt the wind of its passing, to strike Kestrel and fling him to the ground, blood pouring from what looked like a fatal wound to the head. The rest of the party immediately returned fire wildly into the trees, unable to see their attackers but fighting back nonetheless.

"Kes! Brother!" Shrike cried, vaulting from his chocobo after him. Kneeling by his brother, he whispered, "No, no, no," while applying pressure to the bleeding wound in Kestrel's left temple.

Squall immediately leaped from his chocobo in the milling confusion, cutting his and Rinoa's packs loose and drawing his gunblade, shouting, "RIN! Protect and Cure on everyone! NOW!"

As Rinoa's eyes turned golden, Squall called Bahamut. Their opponents were too many and too scattered for Squall to take on with just his gunblade. Bahamut's wide-ranging attack would be more than adequate for this application. When faced with odds such as these, Squall had no problem with utilizing every weapon he had in his impressive arsenal.

The great dragon swooped down and blasted its mega flare in the direction of the thickest concentration of gunfire, taking care of a satisfying number of what indeed turned out to be Galbadian soldiers. But there were more, a large enough number that Squall knew they couldn't possibly stay and fight and have any hope of winning.

Still, Bahamut's attack kept their heads down long enough for Squall to run over to Kestrel, make sure that Rinoa's magic had cured him, and grab him, physically shoving him toward the chocobo he and Rinoa had been riding.

"Get on and get out of here!" He ordered, and Kestrel leaped up without comment, eyes wide.

He did the same to the others; finally yelling to Zone, "Get out of here! All of you! Zone, you lead them back!"

"What? But Squall…" He began, when Squall interrupted him harshly, "You need to get everyone and everything back to Timber! Rinoa and I will hold these guys off and cover your escape!"

Zone swallowed and nodded, realizing that there was no time for argument. Still… he gazed helplessly at Rinoa as her eyes flared an even brighter gold and wings of light sprang from her shoulders. So beautiful his heart hurt.

"Zone, come on man, he's right! We need to go!" someone was shouting.

"Rinoa," he whispered, eyes watering as he realized that this might be the last time that he saw her alive.

"Zone!"

"What the hell are you waiting for? GO! NOW!" Squall shouted urgently at him, shaking Zone out of his paralysis and prompting him to turn his chocobo around just as another volley of gunfire erupted from around them.

Fortunately, Rinoa's protection spells held and no one was injured, and she had cured those that had been hurt in the initial attack. But they were way outnumbered and outgunned. If they stayed and fought it would be a bloodbath, and no one would survive, even with Squall on their side.

It didn't make Zone feel any better to realize that the SeeD had deduced this immediately and was smart enough to know when a strategic retreat was called for.

So they ran for their lives, hoping that Squall would be able to keep the Galbadians busy long enough to give them a good lead. Hoping that there weren't any more of them lurking around in the forest…and trying not to think of Rinoa alone with just her SeeD, facing down an entire detachment of Galbadian soldiers.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Squall watched as Zone led the party off with a single, long glance back at Rinoa before he urged his chocobo into a run. Then he summoned Bahamut again while Rinoa cast Aura on both herself and him.

The dragon once more strafed the entrenched soldiers, taking out more than a few and leaving clouds of steam in the wake of its attack. Rinoa meanwhile was lobbing lightning bolts at the attacking soldiers, standing back to back with Squall as they fought together.

Those soldiers that had not fallen victim to the dragon's searing breath saw what they were fighting against and a cry went up: "She's a sorceress! Kill her!"

They began to concentrate their gunfire and para-magic attacks on Rinoa, and while she was in her sorceress form she was less vulnerable to magical attacks, but she wasn't completely safe from them either. And her protection spells wouldn't last forever. Meanwhile, several soldiers rushed at Squall hoping to take him out and leave Rinoa defenseless.

It left him no time to summon Bahamut; forcing him to step away from Rinoa so that he'd have room to move as he took on the three gunbladers who'd decided to attack him at once. But with his Guardian's strength and the power boost provided by the Aura spell, the hapless soldiers soon found themselves hopelessly overmatched.

Rinoa turned in that moment with a gasp as she saw Squall cleave one of the soldier's gunblades right in two, slicing right through his guard to decapitate him. The second soldier also fell to Lion Heart's deadly arc, while the third only just managed to parry and avoid the blade. Momentarily. Squall's next attack left the man gutted and dying. Another man, attacking from the side, was pulled down and savaged by Angelo before Squall could react.

But they kept coming and Squall knew they couldn't hold out forever. His store of spells was finite, and while Rinoa's wasn't, her energy was. They had to get out of there, get to a better position from which to fight. In the thick trees, the Galbadians had the advantage.

Squall and Rinoa were in the open, with the only thing standing between themselves and being left as hacked and bullet-riddled corpses the protection spells that they had cast. And they wouldn't last indefinitely. In short, it was time for them to retreat also. If nothing else, the Galbadians would chase them and allow Zone and the rest of the hunting party to make it back to Timber safely.

"Rin! We're sitting ducks out here, let's go!" Squall said urgently, finding time to summon Bahamut again in order to force the soldiers to take cover.

"Okay!" She responded, casting several devastating thundaga spells while Bahamut seared the area again. Those Galbadian soldiers too slow to take cover fell to the dragon's fire or Rinoa's lightning. Smoke and steam blanketed the area, mingling with the fog and the rain, covering Squall and Rinoa's escape quite handily.

Squall turned and ran then, grabbing her hand and pulling her along with him as he led her toward where their packs had fallen. They grabbed them up and put them on as they disappeared into the haze, threading their way through the dripping forest.

They dodged among the trees; no real plan or direction in mind aside from the one opposite the direction Zone had taken to lead everyone back to Timber. Let the soldiers see them. Let them chase after them for as long as they wanted through the dark, rain drenched and gloomy forest.

They would hide. They would run. And they would pick off those who sought to stop them. One by one, until there were none left. They were both hunters and hunted, recognizing that fact and acting accordingly.

A growl from Angelo alerted them and the dog snarled, charging at the shadowy form that resolved itself into the shape of a man wielding a gunblade. Rinoa sharply called Angelo to heel and Squall attacked the man, dealing with him swiftly and decisively.

"There they are!"

"Get them!"

Shouts in the mist told them that more soldiers lurked in the woods and were still actively in the fight. Fine. Let them chase them.

Angelo barked at some more shadowy forms at the same time that Bahamut warned Squall of their presence.

"Enemies ahead Rin. Send Angelo off to the left and make sure to concentrate your attacks to the center. I'll take care of anyone you miss." Squall said, hoping that the protect spells that they had cast on each other were still holding.

A clipped order sent Angelo charging into the mist while Rinoa cast another thundaga spell, following up with silence to eliminate any magical attacks that their opponents might attempt. A snarl and a scream followed as Angelo took care of his target, then more screams as first one, then two lightning bolts followed the dog's attack.

They returned fire of course, bullets whizzing out of the haze and sometimes impacting the trees with a sharp thwack or ricocheting off with a high zing. Squall charged the rest of the soldiers, gunblade singing its challenge as he slashed one, parried and cut down another, then traded blows with a third before finding an opening and decapitating him.

With the adrenaline surging in his blood, along with Bahamut's strength and his own unleashed power, Squall kept up the attack, feeling only dimly the sting of first one, then another wound as his protect spell wore off. But there was no time to recast as the attackers kept coming at him and he kept fighting. A sudden impact and burning pain in his side, followed by another in his shoulder, robbed him of breath as he realized he'd been shot twice.

More thundaga spells from Rinoa distracted the Galbadians long enough for Squall to summon Bahamut again, wiping out anything within range. Buying them a little more time.

"Rin!" He panted, hand clapped to his side, hot blood leaking from the wound, "come on! I think we've done enough."

Then it was no more fighting, only running, Squall's strength fading with every drop of blood that flowed from his injuries. The cold, the wet, the fog and the rain helped them, though it also brought with it the attendant dangers of shock and hypothermia as Squall weakened with every step.

Rinoa gradually became aware of how labored his breathing was as they ran, how unsteady his steps became, and began to worry. They needed shelter, someplace to hide out and get dry and warm so that they'd have a chance to survive the night.

The shouts of the soldiers still hunting them gradually faded as they ran, and still they kept going, the light fading as the gloomy day began to advance into a dark, rainy night. Squall's normally strong, graceful running stride was even more labored, and he stumbled more often than not, though he grimly kept to his feet and pushed onward.

Finally however he stumbled and fell against a tree, leaning heavily upon it to remain upright, sobbing for breath.

"Squall!" Rinoa cried, rushing over to him. The smell of wet leather and wet loam gave way to the tang of fresh blood, the scent causing Rinoa's stomach to churn as she recognized it. The light was dim but there was still enough for her to see the dark stain on his white shirt as she pulled his jacket aside.

"You're hurt! Why didn't you tell me?" Rinoa demanded.

"No time… had to run…" He panted, wincing as she pulled his jacket off, gasping as she found more injuries.

"Yeah? Well what if you'd collapsed on me? Huh? You expect me to carry you?" Rinoa said harshly as she checked his wounds and began casting healing spells.

"No." Squall murmured breathlessly, grunting in pain as she examined the shoulder wound to see if the bullet was still embedded. It wasn't, Rinoa discovered in relief as she examined the exit wound. "I'd expect you to leave me and keep going."

"Damn fool! You're no good to me dead Leonhart!" Rinoa snapped. She closed her eyes and concentrated on healing him, trying to shove aside the fear that clenched in her stomach at the amount of blood she'd seen.

Squall suddenly laughed softly, closing his eyes as he continued to lean heavily against the tree. "I love you too Rin."

The cool touch of her magic concentrated in the various hurts that throbbed hot agony. Now that the adrenaline had faded from his system and fatigue had taken over, all Squall could think about was how tired he was and much he hurt. He sighed in relief as the pain faded away.

"Thank you." He said, eyes still closed. He shivered convulsively as a chill struck him and Rinoa frowned.

"We need to get out of the rain or neither of us will make it." she said.

"Yeah. We do," Squall agreed, trying to get his sluggish brain to work again. He couldn't focus, couldn't think; was too damn tired. In fact, the thought of simply lying down and going to sleep was really appealing, right at the moment.

Rinoa bit her lip, considering, then told Squall, "Here, put your jacket back on. It'll help. Maybe not much, but it's better than nothing." She helped him put it on then took his hand and pulled him along with her. He stumbled again but managed to follow her, shivering again. That worried her. Even though she'd healed him and he was no longer bleeding, he still faced the twin dangers of shock and hypothermia. They both did; at least with regard to the hypothermia.

The rain continued unabated as they stumbled through the darkening forest, the wan daylight dimming into gloomy rain-washed twilight. Rinoa had no idea where they were; had no frame of reference, and Squall had fallen silent, his concentration seemingly focused solely upon staying upright and moving.

When the last of the light was gone and they were stumbling in rainy, foggy darkness; when Rinoa had begun to despair of ever finding any kind of shelter, when even Squall's impressive strength and endurance was all but gone and he leaned heavily upon her, they stumbled upon salvation in the form of an abandoned building of some kind.

It was with a sob of relief that she dragged Squall inside the shadowy edifice, hoping desperately that it was intact enough to be dry at least. Dry it was, and smelling of dust and old hay; from that Rinoa deduced that it was an abandoned barn.

She concentrated and formed a tiny pinprick of light in the palm of her hand so that she could get a better look at their shelter for the night. Wind whistled through gaps in the wooden walls, but it was still dry, the roof still proof against the rain. A stack of old hay was piled into one of the stalls, and Rinoa pulled Squall along with her as she made her way over to it.

"Squall? Squall focus, please. We need to get dry and warm. Take your clothes off." Rinoa said taking both of their packs and thanking Hyne that they had the oiled bags for their bedding. It was dry, even if pretty much everything else in their packs was at least slightly damp.

Squall frowned at her, mumbling, "I'm cold…" He shivered uncontrollably now, and found it difficult to make his hands obey him as he tried to take off his dripping jacket. He finally managed, flinging it over the other side of the stall. Then he simply leaned against the rough wooden planks and slid down until he was sitting on the ground, arms wrapped around himself.

Rinoa meanwhile was spreading the hay out onto the floor, making a satisfyingly thick pile to insulate them from the cold ground. Then she layered both of their bedrolls on top of it. The wet clothing in their packs she took out and hung over the sides of the stall, hoping that it might dry overnight. Pausing a moment, she then added a change of clothing for both Squall and herself to the layer between the straw and their bedding, remembering seeing Squall use that trick on more than one occasion to dry out wet clothing.

She had managed to fix the light spell so that it burned on its own, a float spell added to suspend it over their heads, leaving her hands free. She considered briefly lighting a fire then decided against it. Too much dry hay and wood in the barn; even with the rain outside a fire inside might quickly get out of control. Add to that the fact that the soldiers were still out there and the last thing Rinoa wanted was to create a beacon to lead them right to her and Squall.

"Squall! Squall wake up!" Hands, patting at his face gradually pulled him back to consciousness.

Squall focused with difficulty on Rinoa, who peered into his face with a worried expression. She grabbed his hands and tugged at them, urging him to his feet. He stood, swaying, and Rinoa bit her lip again.

"We need to get out of our wet clothes and get warm Squall." Rinoa said, pulling his shirt off.

Sense slowly began to reassert itself and Squall nodded, "yeah." He took over, undoing his belts and letting them fall to the ground with a thud, wincing slightly at the thought of Lion Heart, still in its holster, still wet and dirty from the rain and from his battles. He really should clean it…

He cursed weakly as he bent down to untie his boots and found his fingers too clumsy to deal with the knots on the wet laces.

"Here, let me help." Rinoa said, brushing his hands aside. He frowned slightly as he noticed she was completely nude, wet and shivering. She deftly untied his boots, helping him to remove them and he undid his pants, peeling them off his wet, clammy skin.

He knew there was an important reason why they were doing this, but his sluggish brain couldn't supply it. He knew it had something to do with the fact that they were both wet, it was cold, and they couldn't light a fire. Even hovering on the edge of hypothermia his brain acknowledged that it wouldn't be safe to do.

"Come on," Rinoa said, tugging him to over their improvised bed. She pulled him down with her, pressed close to him and pulled the bedding up over them both, tucking it around them the best she could.

Squall continued to shiver as Rinoa rubbed her hands vigorously up and down his back, trying to use the friction along with her own body heat to warm him up. Eventually, his shivers subsided as her efforts began to work.

He gradually became aware of the intimacy of their position. Of Rinoa's softness and warmth as her body pressed against him, warming his frozen core. Of the scent of her wet hair and of her skin; of the fact that they were both naked and completely alone. Her hands still traveled up and down his back and over his body, her touch warming him and bringing him back to life.

Squall responded in kind, wrapping his arms around her as well, and branding her lips with a searing kiss.

"Well, you're obviously feeling better." Rinoa whispered when they came up for air.

"If you wanted to get naked with me, all you had to do is say so," Squall whispered with a small smile, prompting Rinoa to laugh softly.

Her hands continued to caress and stroke him, and he did the same, the heat rising between them banishing all thought of the cold rain outside. He kissed her again, touching his lips gently against the soft, warm silk of Rinoa's lips, sliding his tongue into her mouth to taste her essence. Her pale, velvety skin invited Squall's lips to explore, and he did, dropping soft kisses along her neck, breathing in the scent of her skin and hair as he did.

Rinoa closed her eyes and sighed, spearing her fingers into Squall's still damp hair. So close, they had come so close. Once again, they had come close to dying and once again, had won free to live and fight another day. That realization made their needs even more immediate and Rinoa welcomed and reciprocated Squall's kisses, his caresses.

She couldn't help a soft moan as his lips found her nipples and he teased and tasted them, flicking them into hard nubs with his lips and tongues, biting them gently only to soothe them again with soft kisses. Rinoa squirmed, swallowing as she began to ache and burn, Squall's fingers trailing down over her belly to stoke the molten fire at her core while still toying with and teasing her breasts and nipples.

She wanted to torture and tease and play with Squall as well, but he had taken command and was firmly, gently insistent that she submit to him and allow him to do as he wished with her. Not that she had any reason to complain.

Rinoa shivered as Squall moved their blankets aside to continue kissing down her body, trailing his lips over her stomach before venturing lower and making Rinoa cry out in surprise at what he did next.

It was instinct, coupled with curiosity, which prompted him to explore her anatomy in such a manner. He was neither ignorant nor yet truly experienced, and what he'd read and heard of it made him wonder how Rinoa would respond if he attempted such a bold and unusual move.

The answer to that question was…explosive. Rinoa shuddered and arched her back, tangling her fingers into his hair with a gasping cry at his first intimate touch. Startled, Squall drew back for a moment and took a quick look at Rinoa. Her eyes were closed, lips slightly parted as she struggled for breath. She frowned slightly as she realized he'd stopped momentarily what he'd started to do, and she made a soft, disappointed noise.

Squall blinked and a slow, wicked grin spread over his face. He started lightly, watching her responses closely as he resumed his exploration. It fascinated him. Not just how the lightest stroke of his finger or tongue would make her shudder and moan, but also the scent, the texture, the taste. It wasn't unpleasant, tasting her essence, breathing in her aroma. In fact, he found the whole thing intoxicating. Exciting. Arousing.

And when he found and teased that most sensitive of places, prompting her tremble and come apart with her hands still fisted painfully in his hair; he found himself inordinately pleased.

Rinoa meanwhile laid limp and gasping, the power of her orgasm still throbbing through her body. She felt as though her bones had melted, her mind swimming as she came back to herself. With great difficulty, she opened her eyes and met Squall's gaze, letting go of his hair and letting her hands fall. He was resting his chin lightly on her lower stomach, watching her with an odd expression on his face.

"Wha..?" Rinoa tried, willing her scattered brains to articulate…anything coherent.

Squall grinned smugly at her and answered her half-formed question, "I was…curious."

"Oh." She said in a small, breathless voice. Her heartbeat had just resumed its normal rhythm when she felt Squall's soft lips and warm breath brushing the sensitive skin of her lower stomach.

She gasped and swallowed as he began his carnal assault anew, kissing his way up her midline. She shivered at the frankly sensual glint in his eyes as his lips closed over one of her nipples.

"I…what…ooooh.." Rinoa tried, and then gave herself up to the sensations Squall was eliciting.

The low, soft chuckle that Squall gave her sent a warm thrill through her body, and he whispered, "I'm not even close to done, Rinoa."

Rinoa couldn't respond, because his lips had taken charge of hers while his warmth blanketed her body as he settled himself on top of her. She wrapped her arms around him, breath clogging in her throat as he joined with her and they became one. All she could do then was hang on tight as her sensitized nerve endings drowned her in pleasure as Squall began to move.

It amazed her; just moments before he'd been half-frozen and exhausted, inches from succumbing to hypothermia. Now he was searing her with his kisses, stealing her breath, as he loved her far more energetically than she thought possible. She tasted herself on his lips but couldn't do much more than register the difference in flavor and scent as she was swept away.

She was lost in pleasure so intense it was nearly pain, shuddering with every stroke and movement, her breathy moans sobbing in her throat as Squall relentlessly drove her to the edge of ecstasy and beyond. Her nails bit deep into his back, raking him as he moved and prompting him to growl in response and nip lightly at her neck. He increased his pace, pulling Rinoa along with him until they exploded together, trembling, groaning, and fighting for air.

In the aftermath of their mutual climax, they simply rested together while their breaths and heartbeats returned to normal. Squall rested heavily upon Rinoa, the heat from his breaths warming the side of her neck. Slowly, she lifted one of her hands and threaded it through his still damp hair, caressing him gently. He responded by nuzzling her neck and kissing it softly. Then he raised his head, brought his hand up to caress her cheek, and gave her another soft, sweet kiss, this time on the lips. It made her want to melt, if she hadn't already done so as a result of their volcanic interlude of just moments prior.

The heat generated by their lovemaking dissipated quickly however, prompting Squall to shift off of Rinoa so as to rearrange their bedding. His brief withdrawal left Rinoa feeling oddly bereft, missing his blanketing warmth and the reassuring beat of his thudding heart.

He returned to her quickly however, reassuring her as he pulled her into his arms facing him, arranging their blankets and tucking them around them both. He stroked his hand slowly, gently up and down her back and over her hip and buttocks, giving her another kiss.

"You know, I was just trying to warm you up." Rinoa said softly, her mind finally sorting itself out enough for her to find her voice again.

Squall smiled smugly, "mission accomplished."

"You worried me. I thought…. I was starting to worry you wouldn't make it. You looked like you were about half dead." Rinoa whispered, gazing into his face.

Squall's smile faded and he gazed back at her, studying her features in the dim light. He had been about half dead, but once she'd touched him….

"You bring me to life." he whispered, caressing her cheek.

Rinoa swallowed, eyes beginning to blur, and said, "I...didn't cast any life magic, aside from the cure spell. I didn't do anything special…"

"You don't have to. All you have to do is touch me, and…I come alive. Every time." Squall replied softly.

Tears began sliding down Rinoa's cheeks at that quiet statement and Squall frowned slightly, wiping them away. He still didn't quite understand the whole thing with girls and tears, but he supposed given the current context, these tears didn't mean anything bad. At least, he hoped not.

When she pulled his face close to hers and gave him a deep, passionate kiss, he figured that no, they did not.

"I love you," she whispered. Squall yawned suddenly, fatigue finally catching up to him and prompting Rinoa to laugh softly.

"We should go to sleep." Rinoa said, and Squall nodded, blinking sleepily at her.

"You first," he whispered.

Rinoa shook her head, saying, "Just this once, I want to see you sleeping."

Squall frowned slightly at that, not sure, even as tired as he was, if he could do that. Then Rinoa slid her hands to the back of his neck and began caressing it gently, softly. Her fingers worked at the tension and he sighed, beginning to relax.

Rinoa watched his eyes blink slowly at her, the lids appearing to grow heavier with each passing moment. She smiled at him, projecting calm while soothing him with her hands. Eventually, his eyelids drifted shut, and he sighed quietly.

" 'nite, Rin." He whispered, eyes still closed. Rinoa snuggled close and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Good night Squall." She whispered back. They were both asleep in moments.


	16. The Bells Of Timber

The bells of Timber were once renowned throughout the entire continent, long before it came to be known as Galbadia. They were the commission of a long-dead prince, who'd heard such a thing in a far-off land and wanted to hear it again, daily. It was an ambitious project that took many years, even decades, casting the bells, tuning them and constructing the great carillon where they now resided. When it had been completed, and the cathedral housing the bells along with it, the prince had become a King. He held his coronation in that same church, with the brazen bells pealing a thousand notes, creating a melody that none had ever heard before.

Music dark and deep, crystalline and bright left its listeners in awe of its power, its majesty, and its beauty. It shivered through the bones of all who heard it, and when it was finished, cemented the place in history of the King who had brought it to Timber. King Andres of the Bells, he was called, up to the day he died. Of all the kings who followed him, only his name lived on and was remembered.

Zone sat alone in the dark and ruined church and gazed upward through the broken roof to the waning moon, thinking about the bells. They had been an integral part of Timber's culture for hundreds of years, age never dimming their bright, clarion peal, merely mellowing it. Never silent, they had chimed lightly in the mornings to greet the day, a musical prayer to the Goddess herself. They had shouted joyously at weddings, sobbed sadly and sonorously at funerals. They clanged alarm when Galbadia invaded, calling Timber to arms.

When the last stand of the Timber Wolves failed and Galbadia finally took over, it was the threat of their destruction that finally forced the priest to silence them, cutting the rope that brought down the ladder leading to the carillon. The bells had not rung since.

Timber was not the same without the bells.

Zone remembered them only vaguely; he was a mere toddler when they had fallen silent. But his dimmest and deepest dreams still held the memory of their music. They had rung the day his father had laid his mother to rest, Zone remembered that clearly. It had sounded as though time itself was weeping, the deep tolling sending its vibration directly into Zone's soul.

When they ceased to ring not long after his mother's funeral, Zone, in the innocence of a small child, had thought that they mourned her as deeply as he did and could no longer sing for Timber.

"Here you are. I'd wondered where you were hiding out." Watts said, picking his way through the rubble littering the darkened chapel.

"I needed to think." Zone said.

"Good place for it, as long as you mind where you sit. Wouldn't do for a loose stone to drop on your head, would it?" Watts asked, sitting down next to him.

"The roof's still solid on this side." Zone replied.

"For now." Watts said.

They fell silent for a moment, and then Zone asked, "You don't remember the bells, do you?"

"Only vaguely. I remember more what my father told me about them." Watts answered, then asked, "Why?"

"I had hoped, when Squall came back with Rinoa to help us, we'd be able to ring them again. Ring in Timber's freedom with the bells." Zone answered, leaning his head back against the pew and staring at the moon.

" 'Had'? You don't think so now?" Watts asked, frowning.

Zone shook his head. "It's been days Watts. I don't think they're coming back."

"So, what? Are you going to give up then? I can't speak for Squall, but if _Rinoa_ is dead, she'll haunt you for sure for that. She'd want you to keep going, keep fighting. You _know_ she would. And besides, we may have lost one SeeD, but we still have two left. And _they_ won't quit until the job is done." Watts stated.

Zone let out a breath and closed his eyes, heart aching. He could still see her, incandescent wings spreading from her shoulders, golden fire in her eyes, as she advanced upon the Galbadian soldiers with her SeeD at her side. A warrior angel, glowing with the light of her own power, Squall a dark shadow to her brightness. The two of them together, two halves of a whole, fighting side by side against impossible odds…

Zone wasn't so blind that he couldn't see how _connected_ they were to each other.

"Zone, listen." Watts said. "I think you're giving up too easily. You haven't heard what I've heard, or seen what I've seen, about Squall and his abilities. Rinoa's too. She's a sorceress, and together they've faced tougher odds than just a detachment of Galbadian soldiers. Just wait. They'll turn up and we'll continue on with our plans."

Zone considered that. Watts was right. Perhaps he was selling the SeeD a bit short, not giving him enough credit with regard to his strength and skill. But, the odds they had faced made it hard for Zone to believe they would survive.

"You have an awful lot of faith in someone you barely know." Zone commented.

"I know Rinoa. So do you. There's no quit in her. From what I've seen and heard from and about Squall, he's the same way." Watts said.

Zone glanced over at Watts, whose features were difficult to discern in the wan moonlight. By being there, they ran the risk of running afoul of the night watch, but they rarely came into the old part of Timber any more. Besides, Zone had been careful while making his way there and was certain he hadn't been followed.

Sighing, he finally acknowledged, "I know Rinoa wouldn't give up while there's breath in her, and she wouldn't let Squall give up either."

He lapsed into silence, and Watts asked him, "Did you get everything distributed okay?"

"Yeah. Between what we brought back and what Zell and Selphie managed to harvest, we've done all right with that. Takes some of the pressure off, that's for sure. We just need to figure a way to get food and supplies in on a regular basis without attracting the notice of the Galbadians." Zone answered.

"Yeah…" Watts said, then he paused, thinking.

"They were waiting for us, weren't they?" He asked.

Zone swallowed, not liking the implications of that question and unable to escape the hard facts that engendered it.

Finally he answered in a low voice, "I think so, yeah."

"How?" Watts asked, trying without success to recall every conversation with everyone that he'd had in the days leading up their trip. He'd been careful, he'd thought. Made sure that everyone that he spoke with regarding their plans was a known quantity, someone that they trusted.

"I don't know. I've gone over and over it in my mind and can't think of anything that stands out where I'd slipped up." Zone frowned, trying without success to recall mentioning his plans to _anyone_ that was the least bit suspect.

"Me too. And I know Squall was absolutely _obsessive_ about mapping out the Galbadian patrol routes to make sure we steered clear of them. He sent out scouts when we traveled, posted sentries when we camped… this shouldn't have happened." Watts said, worried.

"They obviously changed their routes, took advantage of the rain to set up the ambush…" Zone's voice trailed off.

"This was too well planned for an opportunistic attack. They _knew_ we were coming." Watts stated.

Zone frowned, suddenly wishing Squall or one of the other SeeDs were there. Their minds could travel down paths that Zone's couldn't, and see things that he'd have overlooked.

But…. "I know I was careful with who I talked to about our plans. The only people who knew where we were going and the route we'd be taking were those that were coming with us." Zone said.

"Shrike and Kestrel were on point that day." Watts observed.

"It wasn't them." Zone shook his head. "Kestrel was nearly killed. I think if they'd had anything to do with setting up that ambush, Shrike would have spilled it the moment his brother took that bullet. It was the rotten weather that made them miss the signs, otherwise they'd have caught on and warned us. I'm sure of it. Besides, you saw them, they were as surprised as the rest of us."

"But you _do_ think that our mole was with us on our trip." Watts stated.

"I think so yeah. Either that or it's someone that we both trust that we've talked to..."Zone's voice trailed off and he frowned, pondering that. Going over in his mind every conversation with every person that he could remember.

 _"You know these people. Watch them."_ Squall had told Watts, and that damning injunction looped endlessly though his mind. It implied that even close friends and family could not be fully trusted, and he hated what that could mean. He knew Squall's intent was first to identify the mole and feed that person information that they wanted the Galbadians to know. Turn the tables on their enemies if at all possible.

But he also knew that Squall would not hesitate to kill their betrayer, if using them was not a feasible plan. He didn't know the mercenary _well_ , but he knew him well _enough_. Watts decided then that he'd try to find whomever it was that was informing on them, and if necessary, deal with them himself. It left him wondering however; if their mole were a friend, _would_ Watts be able to deal with them?

If the best response to this threat were to kill that person, would Watts be able to do it? Would it be better if it were a friend that pulled the trigger rather than a stone-cold mercenary? He supposed it ultimately would make no difference to the person on business end of the gun; they would die either way.

"What if it's a friend?" Watts asked Zone quietly.

"Whoever this person is, their actions, their _betrayal_ has cost lives and put the freedom of Timber in jeopardy. They're no friend of mine or anyone else in the Forest Owls." Zone answered flatly.

"So…." Watts began, to be interrupted by Zone. "If I find them, I'll do what I have to do, even if it means killing them."

Watts nodded, "That's what I was thinking. Better that we deal with it than giving it over to the SeeDs to handle. It's our problem. Our mess. It's on us to clear it up."

"Right." Zone said. Then he added, "Come by my place tomorrow. We need to discuss this with Zell and Selphie, see if we can't work out a plan to figure out who it is, then decide if we should try misinforming them, or simply eliminating them."

"Right." Watts nodded, then turned to study Zone intently. "You know Zone, you're a lot better at being a leader than you give yourself credit for. Always have been."

Zone sighed, tracking his eyes upward to contemplate the night sky. The light from the moon and the stars just saved them from sitting in complete darkness. The deep expanse of midnight blue, sprinkled about with sparkling pinpoints of light and a half-moon, drew Zone's gaze deep into that eternal void. The broken edges of the church's roof framed it in deepest black.

It was calming, gazing up into the stars, and Zone suddenly wondered if that was why Squall seemed so at home in the darkness. Staring at forever would tend to put one's own concerns into proper perspective. It was odd to think of the silent mercenary as someone capable of such introspection, but then, Squall was nothing if not enigmatic.

"Perhaps. Despite how long we've been doing this though, I still don't feel like I know what the hell I'm doing. And I still feel like a complete and utter coward." Zone said.

"Zone, he _told_ you to run. _Ordered_ you, in fact." Watts said firmly.

"I know, and I know why. I shouldn't feel like this but I do." Zone sighed.

Watts was silent for a moment, then he said quietly, "Squall trusted you to lead everyone back to Timber safely and get that cargo distributed. He wouldn't have done that if he'd had any doubts about your ability to follow through, to lead."

Zone turned his attention back to Watts, frowning slightly. Remembering how puzzled he was that Squall, who was eminently more experienced and qualified, did _not_ take over and lead the operation himself. Instead, he deftly supported Zone's position as leader of the Forest Owls; involving him in planning their strategy, asking for and using his input, and for the most part never challenging him in front of the other Forest Owls. Not quite _deferring_ to him exactly (Zone rather suspected that Squall didn't defer to _anyone_ ) but still leaving the decision making up to him.

In private, or in front of the other SeeDs however, it was a different story. Then, Squall would challenge him, push him, and even bully him into growing into his leadership position and taking a more active part in it. It was so subtly done; Zone didn't think even Squall was aware of what he was doing. Or, perhaps he _was_. Underestimating Squall's intelligence and not believing him capable of such Machiavellian maneuvering could be a fatal mistake, as Zone was beginning to learn.

"You're right." Zone said. Then he added, "It only makes sense if you think about it. He was a mercenary. It's what he did."

Watts nodded, then he said, "we'd better get back. The longer we sit here the better the chances of the night watch catching us after all."

"You're right of course." Zone said, standing up with a sigh. "Tomorrow then."

"Yes. Tomorrow." Watts confirmed, and they parted company, each making their way carefully through the darkness to their respective homes. Each one thinking, _tomorrow, we start hunting the traitor in our midst._  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Squall slipped silently through the forest where he'd been hunting since first light. It had been a relatively productive hunt, netting him a clutch of pheasant eggs, some ripe berries…and two Galbadian soldiers who were still out looking for him and Rinoa. In the days since the ambush they'd been gradually working their way back toward Timber, but Squall had been taking his time getting there for a specific purpose.

He wasn't so arrogant as to think that he and Rinoa had killed the entire detachment of soldiers that had attacked the hunting party, not by a long shot. They were still out there, still after them…. and they now knew that he was a SeeD, that Rinoa was a sorceress. Squall hated leaving loose ends behind, and so every morning at dawn, he got up well before Rinoa did, and set out to hunt down the soldiers who were still after them.

He was doing his best to make sure that _none_ of them made it back to Timber to make a report. He didn't think about the fact that he didn't know exactly how many soldiers had been involved in that fight, didn't know how many he and Rinoa had killed, and how many more were left. He only thought in terms of finding and eliminating any and all Galbadian soldiers that remained.

So he left Rinoa sleeping in the wee hours of the morning with Angelo guarding her while he hunted, returning with breakfast to justify his absence and a blood-spattered gunblade that Rinoa knew better than to ask about. They holed up and rested during the afternoons, using the night as cover while they traveled.

They had kept mostly to a series of dense thickets or deer bowers to rest in, though this time they had decided to risk another barn, as the weather had looked chancy.

The eggs, still in their nest and protected by additional grass added for cushion, bumped gently against Squall's leg in a bag that Rinoa had deftly woven from straw. The berries were there too. Lion Heart rested in its sheath as Squall padded through the trees toward the barn.

The brush thinned as he approached the barn and Squall froze at the sight of the door standing slightly open, when he'd been careful to shut it when he'd left. Pulling out his gunblade, he worked his way through the forest, carefully keeping out of sight until he got close enough, then he quickly approached the barn and flattened himself against the rough wooden wall.

Creeping along the wall to the partially open door, he slipped inside quickly to avoid letting his silhouette be seen by anyone inside and flattened himself against the wall next to the door. There, he waited briefly while his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, and _listened_.

Silence. No cries of alarm from Rinoa or snarls of challenge from Angelo.

Squall tracked his gaze to the stall where he and Rinoa had bedded down. It was similar to the one they'd ended up in the night after the ambush, but in better repair. He supposed he should have considered that the barn might still be in use since it wasn't falling apart, but there were no animals in it.

Movement caught his attention and Squall saw the shape of a man, carrying what could only be a firearm of some kind approaching the stall, his heavy-booted tread echoing on the wooden floored space. By contrast, Squall's swift approach as he went after the man would rival a cat for its silence, a puma for its lethality.

The man swung the stall door open, training his shotgun at the tangle of blankets within at the same moment that the razor edge of Squall's gunblade came to rest against his neck. The man froze, swallowing audibly.

"Drop your weapon." Squall said in a softly menacing voice. A quick glance into the stall reassured him that the blankets were unoccupied, then brought up another worry, quickly set aside for the moment, of where Rinoa might have gone.

Squall waited, tense, and when the man failed to comply he said, "I strongly suggest that you do as I say. I only need a little more pressure to cut into your jugular vein. You'll bleed to death in about two minutes. Drop the gun."

Slowly, the muzzle of the shotgun lowered until it rested upon the floor of the barn, then the man released the rest of it, letting it fall at their feet. Squall moved around the man, keeping the gunblade against his neck, and moved the shotgun away from them with his foot.

"Looking for something?" Squall asked him. He narrowed his eyes, studying the man in the dim light. It wasn't completely dark in the barn; open doors in the hayloft above and spaces between the poorly fitted boards in the walls let in a little sunlight. Enough at least that Squall was able to study the man he held at the end of his gunblade.

Older, grizzled, solidly built and weathered, dressed in overalls and work boots. He might as well have been wearing a sign that said, "farmer". Of course that could simply have been a ruse, Squall knew better than to take things at face value any more. Or the man could simply be exactly as he appeared. There was no way of telling until the man opened his mouth and spoke.

"Wonderin' who was in my barn and why." The man said, gazing steadily back at Squall.

Squall frowned at that, wondering how the man had even known. _He'd_ thought they'd been careful not to be observed, but that was obviously not the case. They'd have to be more careful.

"Just passing through." Squall stated cautiously.

"Don't look like you've damaged anything, but my chickens ain't best pleased with havin' their roosting space occupied. Saw 'em outside when they shouldn't have been and came to see what had chased 'em out." The farmer explained calmly. Then he added, "You've got all the weapons boy. Mind takin' that thing away from my neck?"

Watching the man carefully, Squall lowered his gunblade, telling him, "It's a gunblade." He kept his weapon trained on the man but no longer held it against his neck. The man didn't miss that fact but remained calm regardless, impressing Squall.

"I know what it is." The man replied. "I've seen enough of 'em in my day." Silence stretched as Squall analyzed the man's comment.

"Big space just for chickens," Squall observed.

"Used to have cows. Soldiers took 'em." The man said.

Squall nodded, unsurprised. It seemed a common thread among residents of Timber and its environs, particularly those who farmed or raised animals for food.

"Was out hunting this morning. Rabbits, squirrel… critters what kept getting into my wife's garden. Ran across a couple of dead soldiers out in the forest not far from here." the farmer said, adding, "If you are just passin' through, best watch yourself. It's getting dangerous out there."

Squall didn't comment, but in the silence heard the light tread of Rinoa's footsteps and Angelo's panting, which quickly turned into a growl. Rinoa silenced him with a sharp order.

"Squall? Who's…" She began, stopping with a gasp as she got a better look at the man.

"Max? Oh, my gosh!" hurrying up to Squall, Rinoa placed her hand on his arm and told him, "Squall, he's okay. This is his place. We've holed up here before when things got too hot in Timber."

Gradually, Squall lowered the tip of his gunblade until it rested upon the rough-hewn plank flooring. He didn't put it up however, and never once did his eyes leave the man.

"Rinoa? This fellow's with you? What have you gotten yourself into now to keep company with the likes of _him?"_ the man asked, incredulous. He'd always considered the boys running the Forest Owls to be good-hearted and earnest types, but nowhere near a match for the might of Galbadia's military. They were devoted and loyal to their cause, but they were amateurs.

The young man that had nearly taken his head off before he'd even known he was there was definitely _not_ an amateur. He was in a different category altogether. And he'd lay money on the fact that those dead soldiers were this boy's doing.

"Remember the last time we talked Max? You, me, Zone and Watts? Remember what we talked about?" Rinoa asked him.

The man frowned, remembering. "You talked about getting some help. Hiring professionals…" his gaze strayed to Squall who still watched him intently, whose utter silence was unnerving. "Him?"

"Yes." Rinoa confirmed. "I went to Balamb and spoke with the headmaster at Balamb Garden…. and came back with a contract for three SeeDs to help us out. He's one of them. The other two are in Timber."

"I hadn't heard of that. Nobody's been out here for ages except for the Galbadian soldiers on patrol, looking for anything that might be worth taking. Certainly no one from any of the resistance groups, at least not lately. I could use an update on things going on there." Max said.

Squall sighed inwardly but otherwise remained silent as Rinoa brought the man up to speed on the current events in Timber… at least up to the point of when they'd left on their hunting trip. He hadn't spoken directly to her since she came into the barn, mainly because he was watching the farmer like a hawk. Rinoa may have known and trusted the man in the past but it had been months since she'd seen him last. Squall knew all too well how circumstances could change.

No, Squall had not spoken or responded to her as a cautionary measure, reasoning that Rinoa would be safer if the true nature of their relationship was left, as much as possible, out of the equation. In short, if this contact of hers had turned and decided to sell them out, Squall wanted to provide the man with as little leverage as possible. As far as this man knew, Squall was simply Rinoa's employee. He had no problems at all with furthering that impression.

He _did_ however have a problem with communicating that strategy to Rinoa.

Squall stepped away, putting some distance between Rinoa and him, prompting her to frown at him in confusion at his withdrawal.

"Squall?" she asked, confused. He gestured silently with his head and walked to the farthest corner of the stall, still keeping an eye on the farmer as Rinoa followed him.

"Squall, what's wrong?" she asked him again.

Bending his head close to her ear, he whispered, "I realize that you know this guy, but all he knows about us is that you hired me. I'm your employee. Let's keep it that way for now. Understand?"

Rinoa's frown deepened, unhappy at the reminder of their precarious situation, such that even friends must be suspect. She hadn't missed the fact that the ambush had been planned, and it hadn't taken Squall to spell it out for her. She didn't like what his whispered directive implied, but she understood the reasoning behind it.

Meeting his eyes, she nodded slightly, and he gifted her with a brief smile before the mask was put back into place.

She turned and walked back toward the man, Squall following close behind her.

"He your hired gun or your bodyguard?" Max asked her, noting Squall's protective stance.

"He's…" Rinoa began, but Squall cut her off, answering, "both."

The farmer nodded approvingly and said, "Good. Need one the way things are going now." Then he asked, "Why don't you two come out to the house? Mairi would love to see you, Rinoa."

"Of course! I haven't seen her in awhile. It'd be nice to visit with her," Rinoa said with a smile. Squall frowned at this and sighed quietly.

"I'm sure she won't mind having guests joining us for breakfast. Follow me," Max said, leading the way out of the barn.

As they followed the man out, Squall quietly asked her, "Where were you?" He was still mentally kicking himself for being so focused on hunting down those soldiers that he'd left Rinoa alone. She was a powerful sorceress, yes, but she was still more vulnerable without _him_ to back her up. It was a struggle for him however to find the right balance between protector and partner.

"I went out to see if I could find some berries or something for breakfast. I know you'd already gone out hunting but I wanted to help too." Rinoa answered.

"Did you?" Squall asked.

"I found some, yes." Rinoa answered.

"So did I," Squall said. "I managed to find some pheasant eggs too."

"Good. At least we won't be showing up empty-handed." Rinoa said. Squall nodded.

Squall dropped back and followed Rinoa and the farmer, Max, gunblade ready and eyes roving the area restlessly. He was looking for signs of ambush or anything that seemed out of place. Recent events had Squall a bit on edge and disinclined to trust _anyone_ at first glance. Because of the battle and Squall's activities, it was entirely possible that the Galbadian soldiers would have tracked him here despite his efforts to prevent that.

If Rinoa's friend proved false and sold them out, Squall hoped that he'd see signs of it in time to avoid another run-in with Galbadia's finest. And if he didn't, it would be a poor gift indeed for he and Rinoa to bring trouble to an innocent man's door. Either way, Squall would remain alert and wary, ready for anything that might occur.

"Mairi hon, I'm home! And we have guests!" the farmer announced, entering the kitchen of an attractive, flower bedecked stone croft.

"Good. Breakfast is just ready," the farmer's wife said, wiping her hands on her apron as Squall and Rinoa entered the large, airy and light-filled kitchen on her husband's heels.

She paused as she saw whom he'd led in and smiled, "Rinoa! Oh, it's so nice to see you again!" She immediately enveloped Rinoa in a warm hug, pressing the slender girl against her ample bosom.

Pulling back, she held Rinoa at arm's length and said, "I must say, you look lovely, though a little worse for wear. Is everything going okay for you dear? I hadn't heard from you in ages. Not even a rumor's made it out here." Then she caught sight of Squall and gasped, "Who's _that?"_

Squall had been scanning the room while Rinoa had been exchanging greetings with the farmer's wife, gradually relaxing when he discovered nothing that would raise alarm bells in his head. The kitchen was warm and bright, with wide, open windows framed by white, lacy curtains that fluttered in the breeze that blew through them. The scent of orange blossoms from a nearby tree, planted in the kitchen garden, warred with the smell of cooking eggs, bacon, and biscuits.

Everything was clean, homey and welcoming. Which was why Squall nearly jumped out of his skin when something snuffled at his pants leg and grunted at him. He stared down uncomprehendingly at the culprit, trying to believe what he was seeing.

"Oh, that's Squall. He's one of the SeeDs I hired." Rinoa answered, turning with Mairi to face him, and nearly laughing at the expression on his face as he stared down at….

"Rinoa, there's a pig in the kitchen." He stated, trying to reconcile the incongruous sight of a tiny pink piglet roaming freely in the otherwise spotless kitchen like a family pet.

"Eggbert." Mairi supplied, and Rinoa laughed.

"Oh, how _cute!"_ she gushed, adding, "Isn't he adorable Squall?" Squall stared at her like she'd lost her mind.

"It's a _pig_." He said. "In the _kitchen_." He added for emphasis. Rinoa simply laughed, finding his reaction highly amusing.

"You named him Eggbert?" Rinoa asked Mairi, who nodded with a smile.

"Seemed kinda mean to call him Porkchop like Max wanted." Mairi answered. "He was a little runty so I thought I'd give him a hand." Directing her attention to the dangerous looking (though comically perturbed) young mercenary, she smiled, "You've obviously never been to a farm, have you?"

When he shook his head, she said, "Well, pigs ain't as dirty as you think, and this little fella's even cleaner than most. If it'll make you feel better though, I'll put the little guy outside. He probably needs to go root up some daisies anyway."

As she turned to shoo the piglet out the kitchen door, she glanced over her shoulder and said, "Why don't you all wash up and sit down before breakfast gets cold?"

"Oh! By the way, Squall and I, we found some berries, and he's got pheasant eggs, if you want to add that to what you've already cooked…" Rinoa offered, and Mairi beamed at her.

"Great! Just put 'em over there by the sink and I'll take care of them." The woman said. Rinoa nodded and Squall silently handed over the packet that carried the eggs and the berries he'd gathered.

She placed it on the counter next to the sink and added the berries that she'd gathered, then joined Squall at the sink as he washed his hands. She bumped his hip slightly with hers as she sidled up to him, and gave him a conspiratorial smile. He shook his head slightly and rolled his eyes, then gave her a slight smile in return before he replaced his mask.

The farmer's wife returned to the sink as they finished and her husband took their places as he washed his hands as well. Squall and Rinoa meanwhile made their way toward the table, with Squall choosing a seat that afforded him a good view out of the open window and the door, and with the wall at his back.

Rinoa frowned at this and whispered, "Squall, relax. We're with friends here." He shrugged slightly at this but didn't comment. Rinoa sighed slightly, suspecting the reason behind his edgy attitude and knowing there wasn't much to be done about it. He eventually did relax slightly, but remained alert otherwise.

Their hosts returned to the table with the farmer's wife carrying a small bowl with their berries in it, still beaded with the water she'd used to wash them. Two plates were added to the ones already on the table, and coffee mugs handed around.

"We've no coffee, it's hard to come by these days unless you want to travel clear out to Winhill for it, but we do have tea. Would you like some?" Mairi asked them politely. Squall and Rinoa both nodded and their hostess brought a steaming teapot over, poured them each a cup, and then two more for herself and her husband.

Seating herself next to her husband, Mairi urged them, "Help yourselves, we've plenty here. More now, with what you've brought."

"It wasn't much," Rinoa said, shrugging.

"But it _is_ welcome. And I love fresh berries, so thank you for bringing these." The woman smiled again.

Then she picked up the basket of biscuits, taking one for herself, and handed it to Rinoa. She took one as well and handed the basket to Squall. Other items were passed around in a similar manner until everyone had what they wanted.

There was neither butter nor milk, understandable as the farmer no longer had cows, but there was jam for the biscuits, plenty of eggs, fried ham and potatoes. Plus the fresh berries that Squall and Rinoa had contributed. Given the fact that he and Rinoa had been on the run for the last couple of days and for the most part had to do cold, fireless camps, their rations had been restricted to whatever they could eat that didn't have to be cooked. Squall had no problems with eating raw eggs, but Rinoa couldn't stomach them.

Because of those circumstances however, their rations had of necessity been a bit short. The spread that the farmer and his wife had so generously offered them was the most food that Squall and Rinoa had seen in days.

But despite the hunger that cramped at Squall's middle, he held off for the moment, sipping at his tea instead. He was used to ignoring hunger and fatigue when it was necessary. Instead he stared out the window for a moment, watching his hosts out of the corner of his eye. When they started to eat, he carefully set his mug down and began to eat as well.

He caught Rinoa's puzzled expression at his behavior and disregarded it. If she insisted upon an explanation later, out of earshot of Max and his wife, Squall would provide it. But until then he would keep his counsel. It wouldn't do for their hosts to learn that Squall was waiting for them to eat first to reassure himself that the food hadn't been doctored. He thought of saying something to Rinoa as she started on her breakfast, but figured he had enough Esuna and Cure spells on hand to heal her if it had been.

Rinoa on the other hand, was eating hungrily and sighing, "Oh, Mairi, thank you so much for this. We haven't had a meal like this for _days!_ "

"Well, you and your friend are very welcome!" Mairi replied, smiling.

Squall reached for a couple of berries and added them to his plate while Rinoa chattered away with the woman and her husband. The ham, it turned out, was home-cured, and the eggs were from their own chickens. The tart-sweetness of the berries made a wonderful relish for the ham, and the jam, likewise homemade, paired well with the biscuits. Indeed, it _was_ a good meal, the best he'd had in a long time.

"It's too bad the soldiers took your cows, it would have been nice to have some butter for the biscuits and fresh milk to drink." Rinoa commented.

"Yes, but at least they left us _some_ of our pigs. We also had a good store of ham curing in the smokehouse that they missed. They were mostly just interested in our cows. And our old sow just had a _huge_ litter, so huge that we had to take little Eggbert in for some extra care." Mairi replied.

Rinoa sighed sadly, "So he's eventually going to be um…."

Mairi shrugged, "Depends on how he turns out. If he looks like he might make a good breeder, we may keep him."

"Oh. Well I hope he grows up to be a big piggy and then he'll make more little piggies for you." Rinoa said.

"An' if he don't, he's ham." The farmer said succinctly. Rinoa pouted slightly at that and the farmer and his wife both chuckled at her expression.

Turning to her husband, Mairi asked, "You get them varmints I sent you after?"

"Nope. Ran across a couple of the blue ones though." Max answered.

Mairi gasped, placing her hand over her mouth, and asked, "Are they…"

"No." Max answered, glancing over at Squall and adding, "They were dead. Must have tangled with something they couldn't handle."

Squall remained silent and continued eating, glancing out the window and around from time to time. So far, each scan revealed nothing more than a picturesque kitchen garden and the neat room in which he sat with Rinoa. He stayed on alert however; it wasn't paranoia when they really _were_ out to get you.

"But, that could mean more are coming…" Mairi worried.

"It could," Max agreed, then finally directed his attention to Squall and asked him, "Couldn't it?"

"Depends on what they're after." Squall answered.

"Owls, I'd say." Max replied.

Squall shrugged, "That's not what they found, apparently."

Mairi frowned, "Why would they be hunting…" then her eyes opened wide and she stared at Rinoa. "They're after you?"

Biting her lip, Rinoa answered, "Maybe. I thought we'd outrun them though..."

"Girl, if you brought trouble to my home…" Mairi began, face pale.

"I don't think you have much to worry about Mairi." The farmer said slowly, studying Squall. "Does she?" he asked pointedly.

When Squall declined to answer, he asked him, "You were out in the forest this morning, weren't you? The wild berries and pheasant eggs you brought certainly aren't to be found in my front garden."

Squall narrowed his eyes as he studied the man in turn and answered cautiously, "I was."

"Looking for more than berries were you?" the farmer pressed.

"I was hunting." Squall answered. Rinoa frowned, glancing from Squall to Max and back again, trying to get a read on them both.

"Hunting what? Blue-coated varmints?" Max asked him. Squall shrugged but didn't answer.

Rinoa's frown deepened at this, recalling his behavior over the last few days and suddenly seeing it from a different perspective.

"Wait. You've been _hunting_ those soldiers? Why?" Rinoa asked, incredulous. _She'd_ thought that they were simply trying to outrun them. She hadn't realized that Squall would take it upon himself to try and eliminate them to the last man. Then she mentally kicked herself. Of _course_ he would. He wouldn't want any of them to make it back to the garrison and make a report on their battle. On _her_.

Squall turned his attention back to Rinoa, frowning slightly as he answered, "I was doing my best to make sure none of them reported back to the garrison." Rinoa sighed, nodding. Just as she'd thought.

"Were the two you killed the only ones you encountered out there?" the farmer asked Squall.

"Yes. I didn't see signs of any others." Squall answered him. Then he added, "if it makes you feel any better, I don't plan on us staying here long. We'll be on the move soon."

"Where are you going?" Mairi asked.

"If anyone asks, tell them we were headed to Winhill." Squall answered. "I don't think anyone will ask though."

"You're headed back to Timber though, aren't you?" Max asked them.

"Yes. We need to get back as soon as possible to see how everyone's doing." Rinoa confirmed. Squall glanced over at her, expression unreadable.

"Good luck Rinoa. I hope it all turns out well. It'll be nice not to have to worry about those damn soldiers rolling through here and taking whatever strikes their fancy." Mairi said.

They all finished eating not long after that, with the farmer excusing himself to go back outside to tend to their remaining stock while Rinoa volunteered to help his wife clear up and do dishes. Squall decided to get started with packing up their belongings so as to be ready to leave. After saying so to Rinoa, he left the kitchen and headed toward the barn.

He'd nearly finished when he heard the farmer approaching. He dropped his hand to the handle of his gunblade, preparing to draw it, but held off. The man was making no effort at stealth, and he had to know that Squall would hear him coming, his heavy tread on the wooden floor announcing it clearly. Squall relaxed his grip slightly and waited.

"Time for truth between us boy. Are you _certain_ we're safe?" the farmer asked him when he'd reached the stall Squall and Rinoa had been sleeping in.

"No." Squall answered him. "We were attacked in the rain and fog. Couldn't get a good read on the numbers. I don't know how many soldiers survived the battle."

"But you're reasonably sure that there weren't any others besides the two you dealt with still hanging around in this area." The man stated. Squall nodded.

"When do you plan on leaving?" he asked.

"We'd been traveling by night, but I think we'll leave as soon as Rinoa's finished helping your wife. She's right; we need to get back to Timber, and sooner rather than later. I'll make sure to leave a clear trail well away from your property that makes it look like we are going to Winhill." Squall told him, stuffing the last item into his pack and closing it.

"I appreciate that." The man said, and then asked, "by the way, do you mind giving me my shotgun back?"

"It's right here," Squall said, gesturing toward the other side of the stall and the weapon that leaned against it.

When the farmer picked it up and opened the breech, Squall said, "I took out the shells. They're in my pocket. I'll put them where you can find them when we leave."

The man nodded. He didn't think the young mercenary would be foolish enough to give him a loaded weapon. _He_ wouldn't, if the situation were reversed.

"All right then." The farmer said, turning to leave. He glanced back once to see that Squall was still watching him, hitched his shoulders slightly against the chill that traced up his spine, and continued on out of the barn.

Squall and Rinoa took their leave of their hosts shortly thereafter, with Mairi and her husband Max both hugging Rinoa and wishing her well. Squall simply stood off to the side and watched, waiting for the pleasantries to wind down so that they could be on their way.

As they made their way off the farmer's property, Squall made a brief detour to the barn to drop the shotgun shells into a chicken's nest. The farmer or his wife would find them when they went out to collect eggs in the morning.

Their hosts watched them go, both lost in the thoughts that the sudden appearance of Rinoa and her SeeD had brought to mind. Mairi worried that despite Squall's assurances the Galbadian soldiers would track them to her home. Even if they told them everything that there was to know, their reward for such honesty would likely be a brutal one.

Max's thoughts tended along a similar track but after speaking with Squall alone he was more reassured. His concerns focused on Rinoa personally. He worried about the company that she was keeping. There was no doubt that the mercenary that she had somehow managed to hire was, though young, extremely dangerous. The boy had essentially admitted to killing _at least_ two Galbadian army soldiers, grown men trained for combat. And there was not a scratch on him. No sign that he'd even been in a fight.

Rinoa's SeeD didn't look much older than she; how anyone so young could be so coldly ruthless, so scarily competent at such a young age was beyond his comprehension. He didn't doubt that the mercenary could do the job that he had been hired to do. That wasn't what worried the farmer on her behalf. He'd seen the way Rinoa had looked at Squall when she thought he wasn't paying attention. Her infatuation was obvious.

Less obvious was the SeeD's feelings toward her. He didn't want Rinoa hurt, either physically or otherwise. The SeeD's manner toward her was protective but in an impersonal, professional context. He certainly didn't act like he was her lover. In light of that, Max was having a hard time reconciling the fact that he'd only seen one bedroll in the barn where they'd both slept.

"I do hope that Rinoa will be okay." Mairi said.

"I'm sure that SeeD she hired will keep her safe. She's his client after all." Max replied.

"I hope so." Mairi sighed, then looked up at her husband. "I also hope, for Rinoa's sake, that she's only infatuated with him."

Thinking back to the single bedroll and the sometimes princely amounts of gil that SeeD mercenaries could command for their hires (leading him to wonder just _how far_ those hires went), Max frowned darkly and replied, "Me too."

The farmer's wife sighed again, then said, "We'd best get back to work. I've got washing to do and the back garden needs weeding."

"I'll do the weeding. Need to check the grapes anyway." The farmer said.

Mairi smiled up at her husband, "Thank you dear." The man simply grunted, "welcome" in reply and walked toward the garden.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rinoa followed Squall as they made their way quietly through the forest. She knew better than to try and have a conversation with him _now_ when there could still be enemies about. She was rather proud of the fact that after traveling with him all that time while they were on their quest to defeat Ultimecia, she had learned to move nearly as quietly as _he_ did. She had gotten so good at it that Squall didn't even comment on it anymore, taking it as a matter of course.

That acceptance of her as a partner warmed her. Which was why his behavior of recent days bothered her so much, on several levels.

She wanted to talk to him about it, longed for some kind of reassurance from him to calm the unease that she felt. She knew what he was. She knew, _now_ , how he thought. She'd seen him in action on more than one occasion, had seen him fighting and _killing_ any number of opponents, and not all of them were monsters. A good many of them were human.

But in each of those battles, _they_ had been attacked. Squall was rarely the aggressor; instead he tended to fight defensively. That was why learning that he'd been _hunting down_ the remaining soldiers that had attacked them had been so disturbing to her.

That kind of …ice-hearted calculation… was a side of Squall that Rinoa had not seen before. It was at once dark and dangerous, meticulous and cunning. And while Rinoa knew that his skill as a warrior came from that place, it was easy not to think about it in the heat of battle.

But now, all she could do _was_ think. And wonder.

On the one hand, she was a little hurt that he had left her to do his hunting alone. Did he not trust her to help him? Back him up? Then she wondered if he'd done so in an effort to protect her; sparing her, as much as possible, this glimpse of his darker side.

Intellectually she could follow his reasoning, the logic behind his actions (time in his company had taught her a great deal about _logic_ ). She even understood that in part, behind the cold, dispassionate reasoning that had led to his activities was his iron-willed, _passionate_ resolve to protect her at all costs.

It didn't calm the odd, unsettled feeling she had in the pit of her stomach every time she thought of Squall systematically stalking, and _killing_ , anyone wearing Galbadian blue that had even a _remote_ possibility of being a survivor of the ambush. She found it difficult to merge the two personae: the passionate, sometimes even sweet lover, knight and protector, and the remote, detached professional soldier.

It scared her a little, seeing what Squall was capable of. Then he glanced back at her as they threaded their way quietly through the forest and paused, motioning her forward. A sharp, decisive hand signal from him had Angelo sitting promptly at his feet, ears pricked forward and a slight whine whispering from him.

When she drew even with him, he leaned close to her and whispered in her ear, "look." She shivered as his breath brushed her cheek and wanted to lean into him, feel his warmth, his strength as she did. Without thinking, her hand dropped and brushed the smooth leather that covered his. She swallowed as he threaded his fingers through hers.

She didn't see it at first, then Squall pointed through the screening bushes and Rinoa gasped at the sight. The late afternoon sun poured golden light onto a green meadow liberally bedecked with flowers of every type and hue. It also gilded the magnificent antlered rack sported by the beautiful stag that stood guard warily at the edge of the meadow.

Dark liquid eyes scanned the area while large ears twitched and shifted so as to catch the slightest whisper of sound. In the grass beyond the stag lay the reason for its guardianship: a newborn fawn, the doe just rising from giving birth to it. Rinoa watched, transfixed, scarcely daring to breathe, as the doe turned around and began licking the fawn clean.

They both stood still as statues while the doe finished with her task and the fawn began struggling to its feet. After several false starts it finally reached its feet and tottered on shaking legs to its mother's side, homing in unerringly on the udders that would provide the milk the fawn needed to grow strong.

At length the little family moved off and the spell was broken.

Rinoa looked up at Squall, watching him watch the deer as they melted into the forest at the opposite end of the clearing. His expression was calm and serene, and he still held her hand. The slight edge of fear that she'd carried all morning faded away as she studied his face, replaced by the love she felt for him.

She wasn't blind to his darkness, not any longer. But that wasn't _all_ that he was; it was only an aspect of his personality. And to her way of thinking, it only served to throw those finer facets of his make-up into bright relief.

A proverb came to her, something that Edea had said: _You must first know darkness before you can recognize light._

He looked down at her then, catching her expression, and smiled slightly.

"Pretty amazing, huh?" he asked her quietly.

"Yeah…" She whispered, glancing about nervously.

Squeezing her hand gently, Squall said, "It's okay, there's no one about. We wouldn't have seen the deer if there were."

"Oh," Rinoa said. Then she smiled radiantly at him and said, "It _was_ pretty amazing. Thanks for showing them to me."

Giving in to temptation, she let go of Squall's hand and stepped closer to him, slipping her arms around his waist and leaning into him. His arms came around her in response and he held her close, sighing as he rested his cheek against her hair. Rinoa loved it when he did that, and she snuggled closer.

They simply stayed that way, holding each other, listening to each other breathe, listening to each other's heartbeat.

Finally, Squall said quietly, "We'd better keep moving. You feel up to it?"

Sighing, Rinoa replied, "Yeah. I guess." Then she asked, "We're not going to be walking all night again, are we?"

"No, not tonight. I'll see if I can find a good place for us to camp before it gets too dark." Squall answered her. He loosened his embrace a little, preparing to resume their trek, but Rinoa tightened her grip on him and buried her face into his chest.

He frowned down at her, and asked, "Rin?"

"I love you," She whispered, still pressed against him so tightly that her voice was muffled against his chest. Squall raised his hand and stroked it lightly over hair.

Kissing the top of her head before he rested his cheek against it once more, he whispered back, "I love you too."


	17. the Price of Betrayal

Watts knocked on the door to Vulpe's house, cap pulled down low over his eyes. He hadn't noticed any appreciable changes in the way the local soldiers behaved toward everyone in general and himself and Zone in particular over the last few days, which led him to wonder if any of the soldiers that had ambushed them had ever made it back. If not, then that was at least one less thing to worry about.

There was more than enough to go around without adding to it that was for sure. One of those concerns was why he was there.

The door was opened a crack by Vulpe, who said, "You're late. I was about to hire someone else."

"I'm very sorry ma'am. It won't happen again." Watts said with a tip of his cap.

"Well, come on in. Nothing'll get done standing out here," Vulpe said, stepping back and allowing him to enter.

He stepped in and she closed and locked the door behind him, causing him to frown slightly at that extra precaution. Then he turned and caught sight of Lobo in Vulpe's kitchen, doing something that looked vaguely like cooking, only with ingredients that were a far cry from edible while Selphie looked on with intense interest.

"How many bomb fragments did you say you had?" Lobo was asking her.

"Not enough to refine into anything useful," Selphie answered.

"Don't need to refine them, just add them to this concoction. They'll provide just enough punch to get the job done." He said.

"You need a catalyst to activate it though, don't you?" Selphie asked.

Lobo nodded, answering, "The catalyst is in the detonator."

Glancing over at Vulpe, Watts asked, "You okay with them making explosives in your kitchen?"

She shrugged and answered, "Wouldn't be the first time. As long as they don't blow it up, I don't mind."

Watts waited politely while they finished up what they were doing, deciding that an interruption while they were working with dangerously unstable compounds would be singularly unwise. When they'd completed that task, they carefully put away several improvised explosives, made more powerful by Selphie's contribution of the bomb fragments.

After she was finished, Selphie finally looked up, caught sight of Watts and bounded over, asking, "Hey Watts! Are Squall and Rinoa back yet?"

"No, sorry Selphie. I haven't seen or heard anything about them either." Watts said apologetically, sighing when her face fell.

Lobo shouldered the bag containing their newly constructed weapons and said, "I'm going to put these in the cache with the other ordinance."

"Make sure you clean up your leavings before you do." Vulpe said sternly. "I don't want my family poisoned by any residues you leave behind."

"I'll do it," Selphie volunteered, returning to the kitchen. Lobo nodded to them and left.

Watts followed her and asked, "Can I help?"

"If you like. Here," She said, handing him a pair of rubber gloves and a sponge. "You gotta be careful with some of this stuff."

He put the gloves on, well aware of the danger inherent in some of the substances they'd used. Some of which, contributed by the SeeD no doubt, he'd never even heard of: running fire? Bomb fragments? _Fury_ fragments? Dark matter? What the hell kinds of bombs were they making anyway?

Watts followed her lead, doing as she directed during the clean up. Once they were finished, Vulpe inspected their work and was satisfied that her kitchen was once again safe for conventional use.

Stripping off his gloves as Selphie had, he tossed them into the same bin that she'd used to dispose of their rubbish and followed her out the alley door to where the trash was collected.

Aside from sounding slightly disappointed that Watts had no news regarding her commander, Selphie hadn't appeared too terribly upset by it. Watts wondered about that. Was she _that_ unconcerned about her friends, or _that_ confident that they'd win through?

"I'm sure they'll turn up," Watts began, trying to sound encouraging as Selphie placed the garbage into one of the larger canisters.

"They will." Selphie said with assurance, while thinking that she'd remain positive until she got proof of the unthinkable. She replaced the lid on the trash bin and headed back to the house, Watts following with the trashcan they'd brought from Vulpe's home.

Watts nodded, then he cleared his throat, "Well, anyway, the reason I'm here is to bring you with me to Zone's. We have some things we need to discuss."

"I see. Give me a moment to get my gear together and we'll go." Selphie said, heading upstairs when they'd re-entered the house. Watts placed the garbage can back in its original place near the sink, putting a new liner in when Vulpe silently handed one to him.

Selphie reappeared moments later with her pack strapped on and her nunchakus folded and stuck into one of her tall boots. He narrowed his eyes as he got a better look and realized that each boot had a set, tucked into a special sleeve along the outside of her leg. They were so cleverly designed that one wouldn't notice unless one knew what to look for. _He'd_ thought the boots were just the girl's fashion preference, never realizing until now that they had an actual function to go along with their form.

"Okay, I'm ready. Let's go." Selphie said. Watts nodded in acknowledgment and preceded her out the door.  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Zell took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling the pleasant pull of muscle as he stretched. He kept the movements slow and deliberate as he warmed up. Like any SeeD with a spare moment and nothing else to do, he trained to keep sharp. And _unlike_ many SeeDs, Zell did not require a weapon to do so. He needed only his body and his mind.

The exercises he started out with served a dual purpose; they prepared his muscles by warming and stretching them until they were pliable and ready for explosive action, while also preparing his mind, helping him to focus his energy on his techniques. He flowed from one pattern to the next, keeping his movements soft and gentle while gradually building up speed. He put no power into the blocks, and strikes, not yet. Not until he felt sufficiently warmed that no injury would result from more advanced, aggressive action.

When his muscles felt both warm and loose, when his mind was still and quiet, focused upon his task, _then_ he started training. Typically this would be when he'd pair up with a partner and start sparring, but unfortunately that option was not available to him. And truthfully, even at Garden it was getting more and more difficult to find someone willing to spar.

It wasn't that he deliberately set out to _hurt_ his sparring partners, far from it. There simply weren't nearly enough martial artists at his skill level that could actually _challenge_ him. Squall could come close, but hand-to-hand fighting was not his specialty.

With time and practice perhaps, Squall might make a good sparring partner, but they both knew that he'd never best Zell in a straight up hand-to-hand contest. One thing that Squall _did_ have going for him the other SeeDs Zell had sparred against did not was the fact that he was tough as nails, and thanks to Seifer, no stranger to down and dirty brawling.

Seifer and Squall had fought a _lot_ in the past, and they didn't always resort to gunblades when they did.

Zell danced lightly in Zone's back yard, shaking out his arms and shoulders to keep loose, then letting fly with a lightning fast, three punch combination. He shifted back and switched his feet, then did another three punch combo, this time with the opposite hand leading.

He didn't think; the slow warm-up, that was the part that prepared his mind and helped him with correcting his technique. _This_ part was all about speed and power. Thinking about his combos, his techniques, it slowed him down. He relied upon muscle memory and instinct instead.

He did another three-punch combo, this time with a duck and shift to the side. Zell shadowboxed with an imaginary adversary, avoiding an unseen punch, retaliating with a series of kicks. Front kick, then shift and side kick. Another shift and a back heel kick. Shift stances and front crescent off the left leg, then leap high for a flying roundhouse.

Zell worked through all his routines, starting basic, and then working his way toward advanced. He really wished he had a partner to help him work on his grappling and submissive moves, those were impossible to do alone. Unfortunately. But the aerials he could do.

He leaped high for a spinning whip kick, landing and immediately leaping up again for heel-drop. From there he did a front somersault, using his momentum to power a high-low, block, uppercut and back-fist, shifting back for a front kick, then a roundhouse.

Always keeping the eyes forward, locked upon his target. Focus, it was always focus. Speed and power were never about size; it was about strength, about skill, and about will. The strength and skill to fight and the will to win.

When one was always the youngest, always the smallest and thus, the weakest, one could resign himself to always being the victim of those stronger than him, or learn how to meet them on their own terms and grow stronger from it. Zell hadn't always won when he'd fought back against Seifer's bullying, but he also never gave up.

He knew Squall wouldn't give up either. If he was still alive out there, Zell _knew_ that he and Rinoa would eventually make their way back. And after what they'd all endured during the battle with Ultimecia, Zell was confident that a measly squad of Galbadian soldiers was no match for both Squall and Rinoa together. Sooner or later, they'd be back. They still had a contract to complete after all.

Zone found him training when he went looking for him after Watts and Selphie arrived. He paused to watch for a moment, fascinated. Zell always seemed to be moving, always shadowboxing. He wondered if it was simply because the guy was hyperactive and needed something to do with his excess energy. Maybe it was a SeeD thing and he was just keeping himself fit and ready for a fight.

He was certainly both impressive and intimidating to watch. Zone wouldn't want to go toe to toe with him that was for sure. This in spite of the fact that he had at least six inches of height and reach on him; weight wise, they were close to equal. Zell's compact muscularity gave him nearly the same body mass that Zone's thinner build had.

No, if he went up against Zell it wouldn't be much of a fight. Then again, Zone had to admit he wasn't much of a fighter anyway.

Maybe that needed to change.

"Zell." He called out, getting the martial artist's attention. Zell paused, breathing heavily, and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, mopping the sweat off his face.

"Yeah? 'Sup?" he asked breathlessly.

"Watts and Selphie are here," Zone said, eyeing the drenched tank top Zell was wearing and adding, "You might want to get cleaned up."

"On it." Zell said, shaking himself off and dashing indoors.

Zone grimaced in disgust as he wiped off a droplet of sweat that had Zell had inadvertently flung at him, following more slowly behind. He returned to the sitting room where Selphie and Watts were waiting.

"I just saw Zell race by. Said he was going to take a quick shower." Selphie commented with a half-smirk.

"Yeah, he was out back…bouncing." Zone replied.

Selphie snorted, "He does that a lot."

"Bouncing?" Watts asked. Then a visual came to him of Zell shadowboxing like he always did when there was nothing else to do, punching at the air and …yeah, bouncing.

"For your information, I was not _bouncing_. I was _practicing_. There's a difference." Zell clarified as he entered the room. Zone blinked in surprise.

"Damn, that was _quick_!" Watts said.

Zone stared and shook his head. Zell appeared to have showered, just as he'd said he would. He was wearing clean clothes at least, and his hair was combed back into its usual gravity-defying style.

"You have to admit Zell, a fair amount of bouncing _does_ come into it," Selphie said.

He shrugged, "when I'm warming up maybe."

"Actually, I didn't see _that_ much bouncing." Zone admitted. "More like flying. Lot of high kicks."

"I wish Squall was back," Zell grumbled. "I need someone to spar with. You guys hear anything about him and Rinoa?"

"Well, they haven't turned up at my place yet." Watts answered.

"And nobody's heard anything about them getting captured or killed." Selphie said. Watts and Zone both nodded.

"Well, when it comes to Squall, no news is good news." Zell commented, lacing his fingers behind his head and taking a deep breath, rotating his torso from one side to the other. Dropping his arms, he shook them out and rotated his head, trying to keep his just-worked muscles from stiffening up on him.

"Yeah, well I wish he and Rinoa would hurry up and get back. I'm getting bored." Selphie complained.

"You and me both," Zell agreed.

Zone and Watts exchanged a glance, and Zone said, "We might have something that will keep you guys occupied in the meantime."

"Yeah? Like what? You want me to bomb the garrison or something?" Selphie asked eagerly.

"Uh.." Zone began, while Watts was shaking his head, saying, "no, Selphie,"

"Squall wanted us to leave the garrison alone, remember? Give them time to relax their guard." Zell reminded her.

"Oh, pooh. I wanted to see how my bombs turned out," Selphie pouted.

Zell and Zone both asked Watts in unison (making it really hard for him to maintain a straight face just then) "What's she talking about?" Then they both snorted while Selphie giggled.

"Selphie was helping Lobo make some home-made Boomers, and giving them a little punch with some extra stuff she had with her." Watts answered.

"Finally found a use for your leftover bomb fragments and stuff, huh?" Zell asked her.

"Yup," She answered, and then she directed her attention to Zone and asked, "So what did you have in mind then?"

"Well, first of all, come have a seat. You want some water or something?" Zone asked them all.

Selphie and Watts nodded, and Zell said, "Yeah. I'll grab Selphie one too."

Zell followed Zone into his kitchen and got two glasses down from his cupboard and filled them. Zone did the same thing and they both returned to the dining room and sat down, with Zell sliding one of the glasses over to Selphie. Then he picked up his own and drank it down thirstily.

Turning to Zell, Zone asked him, "Did Squall mention anything to you guys about there being a mole in the Owls?"

Zell frowned for a moment, distracted by the mental image of a tiny, blind rodent among a group of night-flying raptors before he shook his head and concentrated on the _real_ meaning of the question.

"He had his suspicions, yeah." Zell said. Selphie nodded.

"He expressed those suspicions to me when he first got here," Watts said.

Zone sighed, "Well, when Watts told me what Squall had said, I didn't want to believe it. But everything taken all together and added to this ambush, I guess I have to."

"So, I'm guessing you want our help to find your mole, right?" Zell asked. Watts and Zone both nodded.

"Is there anyone that you suspect?" Selphie asked them.

Watts and Zone exchanged a glance. Just as they had thought, the SeeDs immediately focused on their particular problem and started to work on it.

Zone sighed in frustration, " _everyone_. Or no one. I don't know. Watts and I have gone round and round on this and neither one of us can recall any _one_ person or circumstance that was suspicious."

"We need a different perspective on this. A _professional_ one. I suspect we can't find who it is because we're too close to them. Sort of a 'can't see the forest for the trees' kind of thing." Watts added.

Zell exchanged a glance with Selphie, and their attitudes both became grimly serious. The possibility that Squall and Rinoa had fallen victim to a traitor did not sit well with them at all.

"Tell us everything you know." Zell said flatly.

Zell then folded his arms across his brawny chest (and why hadn't Zone noticed exactly _how_ muscular the young SeeD actually was?) and leaned forward, face grim and eyes easily as cold as his commander's. It was easy to forget, because of his normally good-humored disposition, that Zell Dincht was a mercenary whose specialty was unarmed combat. It was easy to forget that his _entire body_ was a deadly weapon.

Zone would not make that mistake again.

So, Zone and Watts outlined everything they knew, surmised and suspected about the circumstances surrounding the ambush, as well as details of previous actions both successful and not. In particular, they discussed their failures in painful detail. All the while, both Zell and Selphie listened quietly, occasionally asking questions but saying little until all the information that there was to impart had been given to them.

When they were done, Zell and Selphie both sat quietly for a moment, thinking.

The silence went on so long that Zone began to worry that neither Zell nor Selphie had any more of a clue about their particular problem than Zone or Watts themselves did.

He'd just shifted and had opened his mouth to say…something…. _anything_ , to get things moving again when Zell finally said, "Patterns."

Frowning, Zone asked, "What?"

"We need to look for patterns. Correlations…commonalities between all of your failed plans and this ambush. If there is just one person who's responsible for engineering these failures, there has to be a common denominator that would link them all. Even if this person is extraordinarily careful, no one is perfect." Zell said.

Zone blinked. Ok, he hadn't precisely thought Zell was _stupid_ , but quite frankly it was also easy to overlook his _intelligence_. His sheer physical prowess and lighthearted, light-mindedness made it easy to think of him as just a very quick, efficient but not terribly intellectual fighter. A goofy, silly kid. A brawny meathead that could pound you into the dust but could not be considered by any means a deep thinker. He suspected that Zell fostered that image on purpose. As secret weapons go, that _had_ to be one of the most dangerous.

Directing his attention to Watts, Zell asked him, "Do you remember everyone that was involved in all of your activities, the raids that failed?"

"If I don't, I'm sure Zone does." Watts answered. Zone nodded agreement.

Zell nodded, "I need some paper and a pencil."

Puzzled, Zone got up and fetched the requested items, handing them over to Zell.

Taking them, Zell divided it into columns, one for each of the failed raids and the ambush, including the failed kidnap attempt that the SeeDs had been involved in. Then, starting from the earliest of their failures, which actually had occurred _before_ the SeeDs had arrived to attempt to kidnap Vinzer Deling; Zell jotted down the names of everyone that had been involved in those activities. Between the two of them, Zone and Watts managed to recall everyone.

Frowning down at the list of names, Zell asked, "Were these the folks that actually participated?" When both Zone and Watts answered in the affirmative, he added, "Ok. Now I need another page of paper." Watts got it this time, sliding it over to Zell with a speculative look in his eyes.

"Now," Zell said thoughtfully, studying the list. "We need to figure out who knew about each of these raids. Friends, family, acquaintances, lovers…" Zone swallowed at that last, unable to recall precisely if he, during his dalliances with Rowan, had let anything slip unthinkingly. He didn't think so, but….

The tightening tension in his gut (fortunately _not_ painful as it once had been, Hyne be praised) eased however when Watts observed, "Well, I'm pretty certain that with regards to the ambush at least, nobody here could have known enough to set it up."

Zell focused on him intently, asking, "how so?"

"We didn't have a precise route, just a vague direction. We had gone through that stretch of forest on our way to the Obel lake region where we got the rexaur, and were coming back the same way. Only someone who'd been with us would know that." Watts said.

Zell thought about that for a moment, thought hard. It seemed, on the surface at least, to be a logical assumption. But…

"You guys were mounted on chocobos, right?" Selphie asked them. Watts and Zone both nodded, mystified at the relevance of the question.

"And the Galbadians have tech…a lot of it." Zell added. "Not only that, they fixed that communications tower in Dollet, so now they have radio. The moon still interferes, but that tower's huge, puts out a lotta juice. Enough to break through the interference and transmit not only radio, but video as well." Zone and Watts both nodded, remembering.

" And Galbadia has control of it, I should know because we damn near got killed during our field exam because of it." Zell said.

Zone and Watts exchanged a frowning glance.

"I don't understand. Why is this significant?" Watts asked them.

"Whoever your mole is, they didn't _have_ to be on the trip with you." Zell answered. Then he explained, "They could have reported to their contact the time and day that you were leaving, the probable direction, and the soldiers could have done the rest. They could have radioed a squad in that approximate area, told them what to be on the lookout for, and even told them what the possible weather conditions would have been. Even if they were on foot and couldn't keep up with your chocobos to intercept you on the way out, they could have tracked you and set up the ambush for when you came back that way. The rest was sheer bad luck on your part. Squall or you could have chosen another route back and the weather could have been clear and sunny instead of rainy and foggy. But it wasn't and unfortunately, it played into the enemy's hands rather nicely."

Zone swallowed, feeling the knot returning to his guts. "So, this list of names is irrelevant."

Selphie shook her head, "no, it isn't. It still gives us a framework. For example, we can check them out; one by one, and either eliminate them or put them at the top of the suspect list. Just because this person may or may not have been on the hunting trip, doesn't mean that they hadn't been involved in one of your earlier raids."

"We can look into their secondary contacts as well. Who they talk to, who they live with, sleep with, and so on." Zell said, then frowned. "You okay man? You look sick."

Zone stood up, face pale, and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just forgot to eat lunch is all. I'm gonna go take care of it. I'll be back in a little bit."

When he left the room, Zell turned to Watts and asked him, "What's going on with him, anyway? I've noticed that he's been getting sick a lot, at least up until you guys took off on the hunting trip. And he looks like he's lost weight. I remember him being stouter the last time we were here. Is he okay?"

Watts sighed, "He is now, but you're right, he's been sick. He's still working on getting his strength back."

"You know, I can help him with that, if he wants me to." Zell offered.

"That's up to him." Watts said. Zell shrugged.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Zone splashed cold water on his face, gasping at the chill. It shook him out his shock, started his brain working again. He needed that. He needed to set aside his emotions for the moment (and how ironic was it that he was doing _exactly_ what he'd seen that damned mercenary Leonhart do?) and focus. He knew this was going to be hard. And he knew that whomever it was that had betrayed the Forest Owls, finding them out would hurt.

 _It can't be Rowan. Not her. Please, Hyne, not her…_ But even as his mind replayed that litany over and over, Zone knew that it very well could be.

He leaned heavily on the kitchen sink and reached for a dishtowel, drying his face off. He actually _was_ hungry; he hadn't been lying when he said he'd forgotten to eat lunch. But the cold, hard lump of ice in his guts wouldn't let him do more than drink a glass of water, which he did.

He took another calming breath, trying to think past his emotional upheaval. _Had_ he let anything slip to her? _Had_ he?

Zone closed his eyes and forced himself to recall every moment they'd spent together, realizing as he did how blind and stupid he'd been, and how much, hard as he'd tried to avoid it, she'd come to mean to him. He didn't _love_ her, no, but he _did_ care about her, far more than he'd thought. And he'd trusted her. _He trusted her._

A memory came to him then…

_"Will I see you tomorrow?" Rowan had asked, idly tracing patterns on his naked chest._

_Zone blinked his eyes slowly, relaxed and sated from their lovemaking, just hovering on the edge of sleep. "No," he'd answered. "We're going on a hunting trip…"_

Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Zone berated himself. _You went and let your pecker do your thinking for you, didn't you, genius? You fell for the oldest trick in the book, dickhead._

"Fuck," he whispered. He _had_ told her.

He'd told her when they were leaving and why, and had even mentioned the direction. He hadn't told her the exact coordinates, or the route they'd take, but it didn't matter. All she'd have had to do was pass the information along and the soldiers could have picked up their back trail, laid the ambush…

Maybe. It fit. It was possible…. but he had no evidence to support that theory. Nothing but his recollections and his gut feelings. And he didn't want to put her name at the top of the suspect list until he had proof. Until he was _sure_.

One way to find out was to behave as if nothing at all was the matter and see her tonight like he had for the past couple of nights. He'd told her that he might be by tonight anyway. _Change nothing. And let drop bits of incorrect information and watch what develops from it. Watch HER._

If she ran to tell her contact some bit of juicy, albeit _wrong_ , information, Zone would have his proof. He pushed aside the thought that he really should at least tell Watts. He was much better at doing things like this than Zone was. He always had been. Even when they were playing spies as kids, Watts always seemed to take to it more naturally than Zone did.

But despite his lack of confidence in his ability to act as though nothing was wrong and continue to literally sleep with the enemy (if indeed she _was_ ), Zone decided that _he_ would have to find this out for himself first. A damning accusation like that, if unfounded, would destroy Rowan, and Zone wanted to avoid needless damage to the woman's reputation.

And…. a cold part of him, a part more akin to Rinoa's mercenary than Zone liked, began thinking about the most effective way to turn this situation to their advantage, if Rowan did in fact turn out to be their mole.

Zone straightened up and took a deep breath, feeling somewhat calmer now that he'd reached a decision. Filling a glass with water again, he stared blankly at his refrigerator. Hunger cramped at his middle but his appetite had fled. Still, he had been weakened by his ongoing stomach problems and needed to regain his strength.

Sighing, Zone made himself do something about that and opened his fridge to try and find something to eat.  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Watts left with Selphie to escort her back to Vulpe's house, no real conclusions made as yet but at least a plan was in place, and a direction decided upon for finding their mole. Zone had rejoined them after grabbing a quick bite to eat.

After they had left, Zell turned to Zone, asking, "Is everything going okay for you now? Watts told me you'd been sick. What was wrong anyway?"

Zone sighed, wishing that Watts hadn't seen fit to let slip that bit of information, particularly as it was no longer relevant.

Finally he answered, "I'd had an ulcer. It'd gotten pretty bad too when I left on that hunting trip."

Zell frowned, "You should have said something. We could have helped you…"

"I know. And you did. Or Squall did anyway." Zone said.

"I can't imagine he was too happy about you keeping something like that from him." Zell commented.

"He wasn't. Trust me, he made sure I was aware of that fact." Zone replied ruefully. "He gave me a healing potion and ordered me to drink it. His exact words were, 'drink this. I haven't got enough cure spells to waste on you.'"

Zell snorted, "sounds like him at his 'get-in-my-face-and-I'll-kick-your-ass' best."

Zone nodded in agreement, saying, "damn thing only got that bad because healing potions are hard to come by these days, and doctors around here are as scarce as hen's teeth."

Then Zell suddenly poked Zone sharply in the stomach, prompting him to gasp and protest, "Hey!"

"Dude," Zell said, shaking his head. "You seriously need to build up. You've got almost _no_ muscle tone."

"Not surprising," Zone said, rubbing at his stomach and glaring at Zell. "I could barely eat, these last couple of months. That _hurt_ , by the way."

"And it shouldn't have. I didn't even poke you that hard." Zell said, and then offered, "I can help you with that, if you like. Trust me, you'll need it."

Zone studied Zell for a moment, considering that, and recalling his earlier thoughts. Thinking about how he needed to get stronger in order to be able to see this thing through to the end.

Finally he said, "fine. While you're at it, teach me how to fight."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

"Is everything okay with you tonight?" Rowan asked, reaching up to brush a lock of hair away from Zone's eyes.

Zone frowned slightly at the question, then gave Rowan a light kiss on the lips before withdrawing from her and lying down next to her. "I'm fine," he answered.

"Are you sure? You seemed a little…off. Is your stomach bothering you again?" Rowan asked him, concerned.

Zone shook his head, "no, it's fine."

"Then what is it?" Rowan persisted, prompting Zone to curse inwardly.

How the hell was he supposed to lie and pretend that everything was okay when Rowan had _already_ detected a difference in his behavior? How could he answer that question in such a way that it put her at ease, rather than on her guard? He looked over at her face, just inches from his, flushed and dewy from their lovemaking, and for a moment, he just couldn't do it.

_IF she is responsible for informing on the Forest Owls, then she's responsible for everyone that died as a result of a botched raid. If Rinoa died with Squall in that ambush, then she's responsible for her death as well._

At first, he couldn't do it, couldn't lie to her. Then after thinking about the damage that had resulted from her actions ( _if_ she was the mole), he _could_.

"I'm just worried," Zone answered her noncommittally.

"No word yet on Squall and Rinoa then?" Rowan asked.

Zone shook his head. "None. Still don't know if they're dead or alive."

"What will you do if they're dead?" Rowan asked.

It was a reasonable question, and Zone _would_ have answered it honestly before his suspicion raised its ugly head. _This_ time however, he paused, thinking hard about how to answer it. What if his answer was carried to the Galbadians? What did he want _them_ to think?

He'd want them to think him weak, cowardly. He'd want them to still think that his physical health was deteriorating, that his resolve to liberate Timber was waning with his strength, that's what. He wanted to give them every reason to believe that he was absolutely no threat to them. Not until he, and the rest of the Forest Owls, the rest of _Timber_ , were ready to be.

In the days since his return to Timber, he'd left out one very important piece of information quite by accident, in telling Rowan of the events that had transpired. _He hadn't told her that his ulcer had been healed._

So he lied, and in lying to her, felt a twinge of dismay deep inside at how _easy_ it was for him.

Wincing, he placed his hand over his stomach and sucked in a breath, feigning an attack, and grunting, "I don't know. He was our last hope, he and Rinoa. I'm not strong enough to do this on my own…."

Rowan frowned, "I thought your stomach was okay. You haven't had an attack for _days_ …"

"It comes and goes. Stress, you know…" Zone said, squeezing his eyes shut and grimacing.

"I know. Zone, I think you should quit this. It's killing you." Rowan said. Zone opened his eyes and studied her.

Was the concern in her eyes, the shine of tears that she refused to let fall…. was it all an act? Zone couldn't be sure, and that more than anything, was what he hated the most. Even if she turned out to be innocent of what he suspected, things could never go back to the easy, uncomplicated dalliance that they once had enjoyed.

It was on the tip of his tongue to refuse, just as he had always done when she'd made a similar observation in the past. Then, he'd thought it was simply out of concern for his health and by extension, the leadership of the Forest Owls. That however wasn't as huge a concern for Zone himself; he knew that if anything happened to him, Watts was more than capable of carrying on. He wasn't nearly as important to the Forest Owls _or_ to the resistance as she thought he was.

_Is your concern for my health based on what it would do to the Forest Owls to lose me? Or is it because if I keep going, keep fighting; I'll end up getting killed? Are you advising me to quit because it'll weaken the resistance? Are our enemies telling you to discourage me, take me out of the equation? Or is there some other reason behind this?_

Watching her closely, Zone slowly answered, "Maybe I should."

The smile that lit up Rowan's face at that statement sent Zone's heart plummeting straight to his toes…. until he caught a glimpse of the calculation in her eyes.


	18. doubled edge

Zell watched the little cottage from his vantage point high up in a tree intently, waiting for the occupant's visitor to leave. He'd been watching this particular dwelling, conveniently backed up against a thick stand of trees, virtually since the first day he'd arrived in Timber with Squall. And just like Squall had noted on more than one occasion, the Galbadian soldiers, while long on obedience, were woefully short on smarts and in particular, the powers of observation.

Zell could sit up in a tree all damn day, in broad daylight, and the idiots wouldn't have noticed him. _Nobody_ fecking looked _up_.

In the dark of a moonless night, it didn't take much effort for Zell to be well nigh invisible.

So, he found himself a comfortable position high on the branch of an old oak, basically pretending he was a cat watching a mouse hole, and waited. Zell could be surprisingly patient when he needed to be.

He was actually kind of impressed at the individual that came and went from this place on a regular basis. He was good enough at being circumspect that he offered Zell's trailing skills something of a challenge. Certainly he was good enough not to be followed by the general run of soldiery that occupied Timber. That being the case, Zell was reasonably certain the man's activities weren't compromising the Forest Owls…at least not the coming and going part.

What happened after he arrived at the home, and what information if any was exchanged; those were questions that still needed definitive answers. On the first question, Zell had a pretty good idea of the answer after the second day of watching the house. Oh, the couple had been pretty discreet, but a furtive kiss farewell had told Zell all he'd needed to know. It was the second question that he still needed answers for, and was ready to confront the man and demand them. It had gone on long enough.

So, when the man left the house and started walking cautiously along the trail that ran beneath Zell's branch, he simply dropped from the branch to land firmly upon his feet directly in front of him. The man leaped backward a full three feet with a whispered expletive, fumbling in his coat pocket for the gun Zell knew was there. Before he could aim it however, Zell simply kicked it from his hand, deftly catching it as it went flying.

"We need to talk." Zell said.

"Zell?" Zone peered into the darkness but found the SeeD hard to see. He did however see the shadowy form in front of him nod, confirming his identity.

He sighed in defeat and said, "All right. Come on."

He turned and continued along the darkened trail, uncomfortably aware of the SeeD at his back who still retained possession of his only weapon.

They maintained silence until they reached Zone's house, with Zone sighing in relief upon reaching his back door safely despite the armed mercenary that followed him. He flipped on the light as he led Zell through his kitchen and into the dining room, wondering all the while what Zell was thinking. What he might do.

He rather thought that bruising might be involved, but he'd just started his training with Zell, and the martial artist had assured him that the _real_ beatings wouldn't start until after he'd managed to put on a little more muscle.

This fact did not reassure him.

After turning on the dining room light, he turned around with a sigh, ready to say something, anything, to start the serious discussion he knew was looming. But when he finally turned around to face the SeeD, the only thing that came out of his mouth was a gasped exclamation.

"Holy Hyne!" Zone stared at him, eyes wide. The martial artist was clad in unrelieved black, head to toe. He even had a black watch cap pulled low onto his forehead and a black scarf hiding the rest of his face save only for his eyes. In the darkened forest, he would have been virtually invisible. No _wonder_ Zell had been so hard to see.

But that wasn't what had sent a shaft of fear right into Zone's guts. As intimidating as Zell looked, the fact that he held Zone's father's gun trained steadily at his head tipped that balance from intimidating to downright terrifying.

Zone's mouth went dry as he stared down the barrel of his own gun, unable to think of a single thing to say to break the tension, and hoping to God that Zell wouldn't find it necessary to pull that trigger. He froze, too afraid to even move, and simply waited.

He flinched involuntarily at the metallic click of the cylinder being popped open to reveal the bullets within as Zell tilted the gun upward slightly and peered through the barrel, commenting, "Your gun's dirty."

Then he spun the cylinder, flipped it back into place with a single click and added, "and your safety was still on." He twirled the old revolver around his finger, then held it out to him butt first.

"Here. You should clean it. Soon." Zell said.

Slowly reaching out and taking the gun from him, Zone managed, "I've…. run out of cleaning solvent…." He placed it back into his coat pocket and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Squall will have some. Ask him when he gets back." Zell said, pulling off the watch cap and scarf, revealing the jagged black tattoo on his face. His grim expression and steady regard was a far cry from his normal cocky grin.

Zone nodded. "Look, um…" he began hesitantly.

"Your girlfriend?" Zell asked him.

"Not really. I mean, she's a _friend_ but…." Zone answered.

"She a hooker?" Zell asked.

"No! Of course not!" Zone burst out angrily, cheeks warm. "Rowan's nothing of the sort! She's a friend! We…take care of each other… when we get lonely, that's all."

"I see. If you had to kill her, would you be able to?" Zell asked him coldly.

Zone stared at him, swallowing. It didn't make him feel any better that he'd asked himself that same question and had decided that he _could_ , if it turned out that Rowan had betrayed them all.

Looking away, he closed his eyes briefly and answered, "yes."

"Why didn't you mention her? Being less than honest with us does not inspire trust, Zone." Zell asked him.

Zone let out a breath and approached his dining room table, placing both hands, palms down upon it and leaning his weight on them, staring down blindly into the grain. Golden oak. Skillfully joined, patiently sanded to a glasslike finish, lovingly rubbed to a deep shine that only the finest wood-oil could give. No cheap lacquer for his father, not for the gift he'd made for his new wife. Zone gently stroked his hand over the still smooth wood. Time had left its scars, but had not marred the wood's beauty.

Finally he answered softly, "I had to be sure. I wanted some kind of proof first. I didn't want to name her because…because if it _was_ her, then that would make the ambush, our failed raids, everyone that died because of them…that would make it _my_ fault. _I_ was the one who'd trusted her, shared confidences with her…shared plans… _me_."

Silence fell, and Zone continued to stare at the table, afraid to look up and meet the SeeD's eyes. Afraid of what he'd see there. Just..…Afraid. Not for the first time, he wondered if they'd bitten off more than they could chew in hiring the SeeDs to help them out.

Like holding a pair of lions at the end of a leash, Zone feared that the weapons he had to hand could just as easily turn on him as take out his enemies. Twice now, he'd stared at death. First with Squall at the end of the gunblade that had been leveled at his throat, and just moments ago, when Zell had been holding his father's gun aimed directly at his head.

He was beginning to wonder if they were trying to make some kind of _point_ , or if this was some obscure form of SeeD humor. If it was, Zone wasn't getting the joke.

"Did you find the proof you needed?" Zell asked him.

Zone shook his head, "I don't know. Nothing concrete. Not yet anyway. But, I figured if I let her believe I was still sick, still weak, maybe thinking of giving up because of it…she'd pass it along to the Galbadians. And then… I don't know. Watch what they did. How they acted I guess."

Zone raised his gaze to meet Zell's, and said, almost desperately, "If she's the leak, if I _am_ responsible for this…mess…then I want to fix it. Feed them information that _we_ want them to know. Like you and Squall both suggested."

"Well, you've made a good start at it, I'll give you that." Zell said, and Zone sighed quietly with relief at Zell's calm statement. At least the martial artist wasn't looking at him in condemnation.

Then he frowned and asked, "How long have you been watching Rowan's house?"

Zell cocked an eyebrow upward and answered, "Since the first night I spent here."

Zone stared at him. He'd had no idea that Zell had been onto him from the start. He thought he'd been careful enough, quiet enough, that his houseguest was unaware of his activities. He should have known better.

"I didn't confront you earlier because I wasn't sure yet if I should or not. So, I watched. I saw you coming and going, and I figured she was just a girlfriend or something. So long as it didn't compromise anything, it didn't matter a damn to me who you were fucking." Zell said with an offhand shrug.

Zone's face reddened and he managed, "You _watched_ …?"

Zell snorted, "not like that. _You_ should know she was a little more discrete than _that._ "

Zone nodded, "Yeah."

"So, I just sort of kept an eye on you guys. I made sure you weren't followed home, and you did pretty well on that, I've gotta say. _I_ even had a tough time following you." Zell commented.

"Thanks," Zone mumbled. He was extremely glad that Rowan _had_ been so careful about keeping the shades drawn. In spite of that however, Zone still felt as though Rinoa, the SeeDs, and the entire population of Timber had caught him in the act with his pants around his ankles. It was mortifying.

"Anyway," Zell continued. "By the third night I followed you out there, it was pouring rain so I figured you could get home okay and I'd wait it out in the trees before I headed back. I didn't want to try climbing down when it was _that_ wet, and simply jumping down isn't always a good idea when you don't want to be seen."

"That was…" Zone swallowed.

"Yeah, a couple of nights before Selphie and I took off on our supply run. And before you left with Squall and Rinoa on your hunting trip." Zell said, adding, "It's easier to climb up a tree in the rain than down, by the way, though it's pretty tricky either way you look at it." Then he continued, "It was while I was waiting for the rain to let up a little that your girl had another visitor. At first, I thought you'd come back, but it wasn't you. I didn't get a good look at all because she kept the light off when she opened the door, but I saw enough to know it wasn't you. That's when I thought she might be a pro and this was just another one of her clients. But then, I only ever saw you coming and going up to that point. Then I thought maybe she was cheating on you or something and started to think I might need to say something to you about it. I kept watching instead, to see if I could get a better look at the guy, and get a sense of how often she was seeing him."

Zone's heart clenched. No, Rowan wasn't his girlfriend. If she was seeing someone else as well, he didn't care. They weren't exclusive. He hoped that was all it was. Maybe she'd found someone nice and was too scared to tell him, fearing that it would hurt his feelings. He wanted to believe it. He _wanted_ to believe that Rowan had healed enough that she'd found someone to love again, but Zell's next words shattered that hope.

" I got a good look at him the other night. He was a Galbadian soldier. Not your normal grunt type either. _This_ guy was smart. Smart enough _not_ to wear his uniform to go see her. The only reason I knew he wasn't local was because he was still carrying his weapon. Nobody here carries Galbadian made carbines, not even you resistance guys. The ones you steal are the higher-powered assault rifles with the bigger magazines. That and the fact that the guy had a Galbadian accent." Zell said.

"They have more assault rifles, more ammo for them, and they're easier to find when we raid the armory," Zone murmured.

"When he left, I followed him. All the way back to the garrison."

"Shit." Zone whispered, closing his eyes. _Oh, Rowan. Why?_

"Zone." Zone looked up and met Zell's eyes, swallowing at how hard they'd suddenly become. "I know you don't know us very well, but you need to start trusting us a little more. We can't trust you if you don't trust _us_ to do our jobs, and this falls right into that category. This may yet work out for us, but from now on, we have to play this very carefully."

"Well, my plan was to just go on like before and not let on that I knew anything. Just play along and let slip information that I wanted them to know." Zone said.

Zell nodded, "We'll go with that for now. I'll let Squall know about this when he gets back."

"Are you sure he's _going_ to come back? I mean, he and Rinoa, they had to be up against at _least_ two-dozen soldiers. Maybe more. SeeD or not, those are pretty long odds." Zone said, frowning. He didn't see how Squall and Rinoa could have survived that firefight, not just the two of them. Eventually, they would have run out of cure magic, run out of ammo, gotten injured…eventually the sheer numbers they were facing would have overwhelmed them.

Zell snorted, "You've never actually seen Squall unload on someone. Trust me, an entire squad of Galbadian soldiers is nothing."

Zone stared at him, "What do you mean? An entire squad of trained soldiers and you say it's _nothing_? That Squall and Rinoa both can handle _that_? How? How is that possible?"

"Dude, he can call a _dragon_." Zell answered him.

Zone's jaw dropped open, then he frowned, thinking Zell was making fun of him. Again.

"A dragon." Zone said flatly.

"Yup." Zell confirmed.

"I don't believe you." Zone glared at him, folding his arms across his chest.

Zell shrugged, "fine. Don't believe me. Go ahead and ask Squall yourself. He might even show it to you."

"Ok. I will." Zone replied.

"Its name is Bahamut, by the way." Zell supplied.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Rinoa's plaintive whisper pierced through the fog of fatigue that had numbed Squall's mind. It wasn't a _complaint_ exactly, though the tone _did_ hold the hint of a whine in it.

He couldn't fault her for it though, not after all they'd gone through together, especially in recent days. She was entitled to whine a little bit. Hell, _he_ wanted to whine too, though he knew it wouldn't serve any purpose. But to her credit, this was the first time she'd even come _close_ to complaining.

Face it; they had plenty to complain about. They were exhausted, filthy, and hungry; the wonderful breakfast they'd enjoyed at Max and Mairi's a distant, pleasant memory. And that was just their _immediate_ worry. There was still the larger question of how to resolve Timber's situation as quickly and decisively as possible. The possibility of a rat in the woodpile certainly wasn't helping Squall's confidence in the people he was working with either.

Well, brooding about it in his current state certainly wasn't accomplishing anything productive, though it _was_ at least keeping his mind occupied. Better that than thinking about how hard he'd driven Rinoa to keep up with him in their trek back to Timber. And how gamely she'd hung in there, doggedly plodding along beside him, day and night.

But, the forest trail they were stumbling along was a familiar one that Rinoa should have recognized by now, even in the moonless dark. The fact that she did not was proof of how tired she was.

"We're almost there Rin." Squall reassured her softly.

"What? Where?" she asked faintly and stopped, swaying. Squall frowned in concern and slipped his arm around her, supporting her against his side.

"Just through those trees there. Watts' house. See it?" he pointed with his other arm toward the faint glow of the kitchen light that could be seen coming from the back door. He wondered if Watts was home. No reason that he shouldn't be, but he wasn't going to assume anything.

Suddenly Rinoa flung her arms around him and buried her face in his chest, snuffling softly. Squall wrapped his arms around her in response and simply held her while she wept softly in relief.

At length she looked up at him, then traced his face in the darkness, saying, "I'll bet you think I'm being silly, getting all weepy like that at a time like this."

Squall shook his head, "No, I don't. I'm relieved too. We're safe now." _As safe as we can hope to be in this place at any rate,_ Squall thought, but didn't feel the need to say so. They weren't in any immediate danger, and right now that was all that mattered.

"Come on, let's go inside." Squall said, urging her to continue.

"Okay," Rinoa replied, perking up somewhat now that their goal was plainly in sight. Sighing, she added, "gosh, I can't decide what I want more right now, a shower, food or sleep. Or sex, now that we'll actually have a _bed_."

Squall snorted, "I'm so tired right now, you're in danger of having at least two of those four things combined if you want to do them at all."

"Which ones?" Rinoa asked, "shower and sleep? Food and sex? Sleep and food? Sleep and sex?"

"Sleep and sex? I'm not sure if I can do that simultaneously. You'd have to wake at least _part_ of me first. And if you wake _that_ up, you might as well wake the rest of me too. I'd be rather disappointed to miss out on the fun." Squall said.

His droll comment, said in a completely matter of fact tone, had Rinoa gasping for breath as she tried to stifle her laughter. She was trying to be _quiet_ dammit. She didn't want to wake up Watts or his neighbors by laughing hysterically. So she covered her mouth with her hand and shuddered and squeaked, eyes streaming tears. The confused look that Squall gave her, revealed by the dim glow of Watts' kitchen light as they approached the back door, only made her laugh harder.

She regained control however when they reached the kitchen door, and Squall tried the knob, surprised to find it unlocked.

"He doesn't lock his doors?" Squall asked incredulously.

"No reason to really. It won't keep the soldiers out. If they want in, they'll simply kick the door down or shoot it to pieces." Rinoa answered with a shrug. Squall frowned and pointedly locked the door after they entered.

Rinoa smiled at him, then turned and sighed, "Well, I'm calling dibs on the shower." Then she turned toward the stairs.

"Not without _me_ you're not!" Squall said before she took a single step, prompting Rinoa to giggle and suddenly bolt for the stairs. He was after her in a heartbeat.

"Gotta catch me first!" she said, racing up the stairs with Squall close on her heels.

He caught her at the door to the bathroom, pulling her roughly against him and whispering, "You forgot two things that might be combined."

Rinoa swallowed, the sexy rasp of his whisper, the warm puff of his breath against her cheek made her both shiver and melt. His arms were firmly around her, holding her tightly against him while his stubbled cheek brushed against hers.

"What…might those be?" She whispered back, closing her eyes and leaning back into his warmth.

Heat shot to her groin as Squall's lips brushed lightly against her cheek, then tickled her ear as he replied, "Shower, and sex."

"Oh," she sighed. "But…the shower here's kinda small..."

"Don't need that much space," Squall whispered, skimming his lips lightly down the side of her neck.

Rinoa's knees went weak as he continued, nipping gently at the base of her neck, "We'll save water too. And time. We can scrub each other's backs…and have a hell of a lot of fun in the process."

"Do you always need more than one reason to do something?" Rinoa asked him, gasping as his hand snuck beneath her shirt and caressed her breast.

"No. Only one." Squall murmured.

"Yeah? And what reason is that?" Rinoa asked breathlessly.

"You'll be naked." He answered.

Rinoa laughed softly at this and turned around, slipping her arms around his waist and pulling close. She stretched upward until her lips were just a breath away from his.

"So will you." She replied.

He couldn't stop the slow smile that spread across his face at her response. "See? Everybody wins."

Rinoa smiled back at him, then her lips met his and her eyes drifted closed. But behind her closed eyes, she still saw the warm, sensual smile that had graced Squall's lips before she had to kiss them. Hollow-eyed, unshaven and haggard he might appear at the moment (and Rinoa didn't kid herself that she looked any better), he still looked beautiful to her.

Beautiful enough to stop her breath.

She pulled back with a smile, eyes sparkling. Then she turned and went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Squall blinked, surprised, and asked, "Rin?"

He frowned as he heard the sound of running water, wondering if she'd decided to shower without him after all. He debated with himself over knocking on the door and asking about it, or simply leaving her to it and heading straight to bed. He was so tired even as grungy as he felt; he knew he'd fall asleep right away.

Still, it would have been nice to share the shower with her, and not only because of the sex that would inevitably be included.

He raised his hand and rubbed absently at the back of his neck, feeling foolish for standing stupidly in the middle of the hallway, staring in confusion at the closed bathroom door. He'd just decided to tap on the door to tell Rinoa that he was going to bed when it opened and Rinoa's hand reached out and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him inside.

He stumbled a bit from the force she'd employed, having been pulled off balance by it, but he recovered quickly. The shower was already running, warm steam beginning to fog up the bathroom. Rinoa had turned away briefly and pulled their packs with their spare clothing inside with them, then locked the door and turned toward Squall.

"Sorry, had some business to attend to first," Rinoa explained, slipping her hands around his waist under his shirt, working them up his back.

"Oh," he answered softly, finishing what she'd started by pulling his shirt off. He sighed, as she pressed close kissing his chest and caressing his back. His arms came around her and he rested his cheek against her hair briefly, kissing it.

Then her hands dropped to his waist and started working on his belts. Squall's hands seemed to have a mind of their own; while Rinoa was busy working on removing Squall's clothing, he was doing the same to her. Kissing her and making her shiver as he did, each article of clothing removed stoked the flame within them both.

"Come on," Rinoa said, taking his hands and leading him to the old claw-footed tub/shower that occupied the bathroom. "Let's not waste the hot water."

She pulled the old plastic curtain back and tested the spray, finding the temperature just to her liking, and stepped into the tub, making room for Squall to join her. He closed the curtain after stepping in and ducked under the spray with her.

"Ohhh…" Rinoa moaned as the warm water sluiced over her body. "This feels soooo good!"

Squall chuckled, "we haven't done anything yet."

"I know. So we'd better get started. Hand me that wash cloth and the soap, will you?" Rinoa said. Squall raised his eyebrows and smiled at her.

When he obliged her, she soaped it up and began with Squall's chest. He stood still for a moment and closed his eyes, reveling in the sensual warmth of the water and the feel of her hands rubbing the soft, soapy cloth over every inch of his body. When she was finished, he returned the favor, following up with soft kisses where the soap had been rinsed away. Smiling at her shiver as he pressed himself close to her back and planted a lingering kiss on her right shoulder.

Rinoa tipped her head back, letting the water cascade down onto her face, soaking her hair and running down her back. She wanted to wash her hair, but Squall was proving to be a rather sexy distraction. Still, she hadn't washed her hair properly in far too long, so she reached for the shampoo, promising herself that she'd attack him right after she'd completed that task. Squall beat her to it and handed the shampoo to her, taking a bit for himself.

"Ah… _finally_ I get to have clean hair!" she sighed, lathering up happily. Squall had to agree as he did the same.

Rinsing his hair clean, he wiped the water away from his face and opened his eyes to watch Rinoa doing the same thing, eyes closed and face turned up into the shower's spray. White globs of foam dribbled from her hair and down her back, the water gleaming on her shoulders and breasts as she turned her back to the spray and continued her rinsing, eyes still closed.

Stepping closer, Squall slipped his hands around her waist, asking, "feel better now?"

"Yes," she answered, opening her eyes and smiling up at him. "Do you?"

"Almost." Squall answered softly, studying her. Water beaded on her face and eyelashes, trickling down her face like tears when she blinked.

He reached up and wiped the water away, then he kissed her. Softly at first, just a light brush of his lips against hers, while pulling her closer against his body; gradually increasing the pressure of his lips, moving them over hers and employing his tongue to tease and tantalize.

He caressed Rinoa's breast, his breaths becoming as fast and harsh as hers. The warmth and steam of the shower, the taste of her lips and her skin, the feel of her against him, of her hand as she reached down to stroke and caress him, weakening his knees… it all combined to fight back the fatigue that dragged at his body, awakening its passion instead.

Rinoa trailed her lips down Squall's chest, feeling a thrill at the catch of his breath. She stroked her hands over his too-prominent ribs, the last few days…she didn't know exactly _how_ many…. having left their mark on him. She sported a prominent rack of ribs herself, and for the same reason. It had been a hard trek back and it had worn them both down to the bone. But they _were_ back…and they had survived.

It fueled their elemental need for each other. There was no question of resistance from either of them; what rose between them was deeper and more powerful than anything they'd yet experienced. If they'd paused to think about it, _really think_ … it might have frightened them with its intensity. Rinoa at least sensed that it was part of the bond she'd created with Squall as her knight. But only a tiny part of her acknowledged that. The rest of her was drawn willingly into the give and take of their lovemaking.

It wasn't perfect of course. Not at first. The claw-footed tub was small, and slippery, and afforded little in the way of support. But they persevered and managed to work around the challenge presented, surmounting it in a more than satisfactory fashion.

Their lips fused and tongues dueled, then retreated and followed the paths their hands had taken, kissing and nipping, sipping water from warm, silken skin. Rinoa shivered as his lips found the back of her neck, his fingers her sensitive core, stoking her need to an unbearable level. Leaving her aching for more.

Then he wrapped her in his arms and satisfied that ache, dragging a shivering moan from her as they became one. Rinoa's knees went weak and she was glad for Squall's strength supporting her, one hand cupping a breast, the other splayed at her stomach. Her senses swam in the sensual fog that enveloped them both, and she swayed with each surge and retreat, such that she nearly slipped and lost her balance.

Squall paused and steadied her, asking breathlessly, "Okay?"

Rinoa regained her footing and sighed, "Yes…"

"Good." Squall said, resuming his movements.

She braced against the wall for support, gasping for air as her senses were overwhelmed with pleasure. Tension built with each touch of his fingers to sensitive skin, with each thrust and retreat, with each gasp and moan. With each gentle kiss at shoulder and neck, each light nip to sensitive skin. It drew out to a near painful crest, then released, leaving Rinoa shivering and moaning in its throes. Squall followed after, gasping harshly and nearly crushing her in his embrace.

Rinoa closed her eyes, imprinting the moment in her memory. Heat and steam and Squall's warm breath brushing her cheek, his hard body pressed against her, his heart still thudding heavily within his chest. So heavily that she could feel it pulsing against her back as they stood there together, Squall still wrapped around her body, still physically part of her. She laid her hands over his arms and swallowed at the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her.

They came back to themselves gradually; the water turning cold, their passionate kisses and touches turning tender. Finally they separated, Rinoa turning off the tap and turning to face Squall, leaning into him and kissing his chest, then wrapping her arms around him. He held her too, his pounding heart gradually calming, listening to her breath.

Fatigue crashed in upon them both as they stood together, and Squall murmured, "We'd better go to bed. I think I just used up the last of my energy."

Rinoa yawned, "me too." Squall laughed softly at that.

Then he released her and stepped out of the tub, grabbing a towel and drying off his face and hair before wrapping it around his waist. Then he took Rinoa's hand and helped her out of the tub, holding her steady in the event of a slip. Appropriating a second towel, he wrapped it around her shoulders and then wrapped his arms around her again, giving her a brief kiss before turning away to dig through his pack for some clothes.

"Ugh. Nothing's clean," He grumbled. He grimaced as he pulled on a pair of the cleanest jeans he could find.

"Well, hopefully Watts' washer and dryer work," Rinoa said, sighing. She picked through her own pack until she found some semi clean clothing. Once dressed she dug out her comb and ran it carefully through her wet hair, watching as Squall wiped the condensation off of the mirror and frowned at the image in it.

"Here," Rinoa extended her hand holding her comb out to him.

"Thanks," he said, taking it. He combed out the tangles, then rubbed at the stubble on his cheeks and chin, trying to decide if he should shave or not. Then he yawned and concluded that he was too damn tired to shave. Leave it till morning.

"Are you going to shave?" Rinoa asked.

Squall shook his head, "Tomorrow. Let's just go to bed."

"All right," Rinoa sighed, adding, "I'll deal with the laundry tomorrow, if you like."

Squall frowned at her. Was she just offering to wash his clothes along with her own?

"I can…" he began, but Rinoa interrupted him. "It's no trouble. It'll take less time if we combine our stuff. Fewer loads."

"Oh. Okay." He said, then picked up his pack and reached for her hand. "Let's go to bed."

Rinoa picked up her pack and took his hand, "All right."

* * *

Watts trudged up to his back door yawning and grabbed the doorknob to open it, frowning when it didn't budge.

"What the…? Locked?" He _never_ locked his back door. There wasn't any real point to doing so. He stared in confusion at the locked door, thinking. If anyone were lying in wait for him, they wouldn't have locked the door. Likewise if someone had taken it into their heads to _steal_ from him. There was little enough to steal in the first place, and it was rather pointless for the thief to lock the door behind them in the second.

Based on those observations, Watts concluded that whomever had locked the door was likely still in his house and either didn't want to be disturbed or had done so out of habit. There was only one person that he was acquainted with that could have both of those reasons applied to him.

Watts fished through his pockets hurriedly, cursing when he was unable to find his key. Grumbling under his breath, he trudged quietly around the house to the front door, hoping that it hadn't been locked as well. If the person still inside was who Watts _thought_ he was, it was a good possibility.

Fortunately, the knob turned easily when Watts tried it, eliciting a sigh of relief from him. Stepping over the threshold, he closed it quietly and peered around his darkened home. Only the light from over the sink in the kitchen remained on, just as he'd left it earlier that evening. Everything else was dark.

Sighing, he walked toward the stairs and paused with one foot on the bottom riser, listening to the sound of the shower in the upstairs bathroom running and noting the light coming from under the door. Watts continued up the stairs and toward his room, passing the bathroom along the way. Nearing the door, he paused, hearing indistinct voices. The tones and inflections confirmed the identities of the persons on the other side, and Watts continued on to his bedroom with a deep, relieved sigh.

Squall and Rinoa had finally returned.

 


	19. Examining the Pieces

"Down! Inhale, Zone! Tighten your abs! Okay, that's good!" Zell was coaching Zone through his morning exercises, and just minutes into it, Zone was already sweating. Zell meanwhile appeared to just barely be warming up.

"Okay Zone, UP! Exhale! Good! C'mon now, another one! DOWN!" Zone panted and sweated, too breathless to even swear. Zell had even told him not to waste his breath on cursing, but to concentrate on the exercises instead.

He supposed it didn't hurt that Zell was right alongside him, urging him on, though seeing how effortless it was for Zell made him feel even weaker by comparison to the brawny martial artist. Still, he'd asked the guy to train him and he was determined to follow through with it. Besides, he had the feeling that once Zell took on a task, he'd complete it come hell or high water…. and _his_ feelings about said task were completely irrelevant.

Still, it was hard seeing how badly his body had deteriorated due to his illness, and harder still to keep to his resolve to rebuild it. Part of him wanted to quit, give up. It was too hard, he was too weak, and he'd never make it….

Bullshit. He could do this. He _would_ do this. If for no other reason than to see surprise registered on Squall's face as Zone _leveled_ him with a solid punch this time.

It wouldn't be easy to take the SeeD by surprise, especially now that he'd been put on notice, but if nothing else, it was a goal Zone could shoot for.

"Zone! Pay attention man! What's the count?" Zell asked him.

"Fif…fifteen," Zone panted, pushing himself upward.

"C'mon! Fifteen more!" Zell urged him, and Zone grit his teeth and soldiered on, following Zell's count.

Sixteen. Inhale. Exhale. Down. Up. Keep the abs tight, the back straight. It was just push-ups for Hyne's sake. Who'd have thought they'd be this _hard_?

Seventeen. Zone mechanically followed Zell's lead, gritting his teeth, arms starting to tremble. Breathe. Just breathe. Keep the count.

Eighteen. _God dammit Zone! Come on!_ He berated himself, pushing past pain, past fatigue. But his arms were trembling even worse than before, and it was hard to maintain his form.

Nineteen.

"Fuck!" Zone spat breathlessly as he collapsed, panting.

"Come on Zone! One more!" Zell urged him.

"URGGH!" Zone grunted as he managed one more push up before he was done for good.

Then he groaned as Zell said, "Well, that's not bad for a start. We can build on that and before you know it you'll be cranking out fifty in less than a minute."

Zone sat up and shook out his arms, "Gods, my arms feel like jelly." Then he glared tiredly over at Zell as the martial artist whipped out thirty more push –ups in quick succession. With perfect form, of course.

"All right!" Zell bounced to his feet. "Now we do jumping jacks!"

"Wha…?" Zone groaned and climbed to his feet. He was drenched in sweat and already exhausted, and according to Zell, they were just warming up.

"C'mon man, I know it's tough, especially starting out in the shape you're in right now. But I'm not going to teach you how to throw a punch until you're strong enough to _take_ one, got it?" Zell told him. Zone nodded.

"All right then. Let's do it." Zell said, already starting to bounce. Zone grimly followed suit.

* * *

When Squall finally awakened, the sun was well up and he was immediately aware of two things: he had to use the bathroom, and he was _starving_. Much as he would have preferred to remain comfortably cocooned in bed with Rinoa, his body's demands forced him to leave her side.

So he yawned and stretched, then rolled over briefly to press against Rinoa's back and slipped his arm around her for a brief hug and light kiss on the back of her neck before reluctantly getting out of bed. She sighed and shifted but didn't wake up fully, and Squall cast a slight smile back at her before grabbing the cleanest of his none too clean clothing and getting dressed with a grimace.

After taking care of the most immediate of his needs, he went downstairs to see about the other one. He wondered if Watts was home, if he was awake, and what had happened during his and Rinoa's absence. He also wished fervently for some coffee as he poked through the cupboards and refrigerator in search of something to eat.

Spying a bowl of oranges and apples on the dining room table (possibly brought back by Zell and Selphie) he grabbed an apple, washed it off and crunched into it to take the edge off. While he chewed he leaned against the counter and considered what Watts had on hand and what might be done with it.

There were eggs of course, plenty of them in fact. And a little bit of produce, likely from Gram's garden; onions, peppers, plenty of tomatoes, peas still in the pods, green beans… there was also bread, likely also from Gram. Squall investigated it and found it only slightly stale, at most two days old. There was still quite a lot of meat left from the hunting trip, but it was all still in the freezer. Selecting several steaks, Squall transferred them to the refrigerator to thaw for later.

Finishing his apple, Squall tossed the core and washed his hands, then got to work cooking breakfast.

A pair of arms slipped around his waist from behind as he was cooking the eggs, followed by a sigh of, "Mmmm…that smells wonderful. What are you making?"

"Well, it started out as an omelet, but ended up scrambled instead. With some onions and sweet peppers mixed in." Squall explained, glancing back over his shoulder at Rinoa.

"Couldn't manage an omelet this morning? Tsk, tsk. I might have to dock your pay for that." Rinoa said, giving him a hug.

Squall reached back with one arm and brought her around to his side, arm around her shoulders, saying seriously, "I don't believe anything was implicitly or explicitly mentioned in my contract regarding my omelet making ability, or any requirement thereof for that skill."

He stated that in such a deadpan, serious manner that for a moment, Rinoa thought he actually _was_ being serious…until she saw the wicked gleam in his eye and caught the slight twitch at the corners of his lips.

"Meanie!" She burst out laughing, poking him gently in the side. He simply raised an eyebrow, his expression saying clearly, "gotcha!". Then he leaned in for a soft, lingering kiss before returning his attention to the cooking food.

Taking a plate from the cupboard, he dished up the eggs, a slice of toasted bread and some sliced up fresh tomatoes and handed it to Rinoa, saying, "Go ahead and sit down. I'll join you in a moment."

"What about Watts? Is he up yet?" Rinoa asked as she followed Squall's directive.

"I haven't seen him. Don't worry, I made extra, so if he's hungry he can dish up and eat when he gets here." Squall explained, taking a plate for himself and two slices of the toasted bread.

Joining Rinoa at the table, he took an orange from the bowl and sliced it into wedges, offering some to Rinoa, who accepted readily. The oranges and the apples appeared fairly fresh, and Squall wondered if the Owls or Zell had managed another gathering trip while he and Rinoa had been gone.

Rinoa sighed happily as she took a bite of orange, sucking at the juice. "Smart, sexy, _and_ you can cook. I think I'll keep you."

Squall simply snorted and dug into his breakfast, taking a pinch of salt from the cellar and sprinkling it sparingly over the tomatoes. The next few moments were silent as they both concentrated on eating.

Watts appeared moments later, yawning. He padded into the kitchen, sniffing appreciatively.

"Thought I'd smelled something cooking," he commented.

"There's extra if you want it." Squall gestured toward the stove. Watts nodded and helped himself to what was left.

Sitting down opposite Squall, Watts studied him briefly before saying, "rough week."

"Hm." Squall grunted in agreement, still eating. Then he swallowed down what he had in his mouth and asked, "Has it been a week?"

"A little more than that, actually." Watts answered. "You certainly look rough enough."

Squall rubbed at stubble on his chin and grimaced, "I haven't shaved yet. I was too tired to last night."

"That's not what I'm talking about," Watts clarified. "I meant that you both look like you've had a rough trip. You've lost weight, both of you."

"It was a long walk back and we had to hunt along the way." Squall explained briefly, returning to his breakfast.

Rinoa snorted at this and added, "That plus Squall's single-minded determination to make sure none of the soldiers we fought made it back to Timber to report. Speaking of which, _did_ any of them make it back?"

Watts shook his head, answering, "I don't think so. If they had, we'd have all been at the top of their Most Wanted list. Since I've been back it's pretty much been business as usual."

"Well, that's good to know anyway." Squall commented.

Watts continued eating in silence for a moment, trying to wrap his mind around Squall's casual comment that they'd had to _hunt_ along the way back to Timber, along with Rinoa's clarification that it wasn't merely for _food_ that he'd been hunting. Of course, that went a long way toward explaining why both Squall and Rinoa appeared so worn down; tough as Squall was (and Watts was just beginning to get a sense of exactly _how_ tough…) the last week plus had _definitely_ not been easy on either of them.

Finally he said, "Well, when you're ready, we need to get over to Zone's. He, Zell and Selphie need to know you're back."

Squall nodded, "All right."

Rinoa nodded as well, then grimaced, "If you don't mind, we really need to wash some clothing. Neither of us has anything clean."

Watts shrugged, "be my guest. The washer and dryer are both older than dirt but they work."

Rinoa sighed in relief at that, saying, "Thank you! I'll get right on it!" she jumped up and put her dish in the sink and ran upstairs.

After Rinoa had left, Watts looked over at Squall and asked, "You seriously just hunted down all of those soldiers?"

Squall nodded, "as many as I could find. Obviously, if I missed anyone, they haven't made it back yet."

Watts shook his head in amazement, "I thought you guys were goners. A lot of us did. Only Zell and Selphie seemed perfectly confident that you'd turn up. Obviously they know you better than we do."

Squall shrugged at that, finishing up the last of his meal. Then he got up and put it into the sink, automatically starting the clean up. Watts followed him and placed his plate and utensils in the sink.

Leaning against the counter, he watched Squall for a moment, then commented, "You confuse me sometimes. You're this badass SeeD mercenary that single handedly hunted down and killed an entire squad of Galbadian soldiers. And here you are, washing dishes. You actually _like_ to do this?"

"It's relaxing. Gives me time to think. Besides, I'm chiefly responsible for the mess, so I might as well clean it up." Squall answered. Then he glanced over at Watts.

"You _could_ help." He suggested. Watts snorted, taking the hint, and grabbed a towel.

They completed that small task quickly, dishes dried and put away and the counters wiped down.

Squall sighed, leaning against the counter and gazed toward the stairs where Rinoa had gone to retrieve their clothing in order to wash them.

He had just decided to head back upstairs to the bathroom to shave when Watts said in a low voice, "We think we may have found our mole."

Squall's attention snapped back to Watts. "Who?"

Dropping his gaze to the floor briefly, Watts answered him, "Later. When we're at Zone's. You need to talk to him and to your SeeDs anyway."

Squall nodded. "All right." Pushing off from the counter, Squall started toward the stairs, scratching at his cheeks and making a face.

"I'm gonna shave. This crap's bugging me." He declared, mounting the stairs and heading for the bathroom.

"Gram's been askin' about you. We ought to pay her a visit when you're done," Watts called after him.

Squall paused midway up the stairs and turned back, asking wryly, "What does she need done this time? More wood chopping?"

"Nah, you chopped more than enough for her last time. But if I know Gram, she'll figure something out for you to do." Watts said, adding, "More than likely, it'll be something hot and sweaty."

"Anything to get my shirt off again…" Squall grumbled as he continued up the stairs, ignoring Watts' sudden bark of laughter.

* * *

Watts' obligatory visit to his elderly neighbor was fortunately a quick one, as Gram, for a change, actually didn't have anything that she needed for them to do right at the moment. After squinting up at Squall and observing that he looked even more disreputable than the _last_ time she'd seen him ("What have you been into boy?" "Hunting." "Hunting what?" "Varmints. Blue ones."), she suggested that they return in the morning, as there would be lawn mowing and garden tending to be done.

Rinoa by then had managed to make effective use of Watts' washer and dryer and both her and Squall's clothing was clean. This fact relieved Squall mightily, to the point that he wanted to kiss her soundly for performing that small service for him. Of course, she didn't have to do anything at all for him to want to do that, but her help was deeply appreciated.

Feeling much better from having finally changed into a clean set of clothes, Squall followed Watts through the forest trails around the perimeter of Timber toward Zone's home, Rinoa walking confidently alongside him.

Squall had once again donned the bandanna to obscure his distinctive scar as much as possible, and had his Lion Heart gunblade, still sheathed, stuck in the backpack on his back. When Watts had questioned his need to bring the pack when they were planning on coming right back to his home, Squall had merely shrugged and declined to offer an explanation.

When Watts had seen him pointedly stash his gunblade into the pack to hide it however, he finally understood. The SeeD would _not_ go unarmed. Period.

The morning was well on toward noon now, the day sunny, bright and warm. Birds twittered in the trees, butterflies and dragonflies fluttered in and out of the beams of light that speared through the leafy canopy that they passed beneath. When one discounted the political issues surrounding the town, and overlooked the damages wrought by nearly two decades of war and resistance, the area was actually quite beautiful.

Watts led Rinoa and Squall unerringly through the forest to the back gate of what Squall assumed was the back yard to Zone's house. That was where they found Zell and Zone, both covered in sweat and breathing heavily, apparently just completing an intense workout.

"…. we'll keep on like this for a little bit, let you get a little more solid, then I'll start with showing you basic stuff like how to fall, proper stances, maybe some basic punches and blocks." Zell was saying.

"This is gonna take forever…" Zone mumbled. "You're not going to be here that long Zell."

"You don't know that, and neither do I. We don't have any idea on how long this situation will take to resolve Zone, there's too much that has to be put in place. That sort of thing takes time. And I for one don't know any other way to teach someone how to fight without starting with a good basic foundation first. If you're solid there, then everything else will work just fine, even if you only know one or two of the beginner level techniques. It's more than you knew before." Zell replied with a shrug.

"Yeah, but…" The sound of someone approaching through the overgrown backyard had both Zone and Zell leaping to their feet, tense and ready to fight.

Then Zone froze in shock as he recognized the two people that Watts was leading through the long grass.

"Squall! Rinoa!" Zell shouted and took off like a shot straight for them. Zone had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the look of resigned consternation that appeared on Squall's face as the martial artist barreled into him, lifting him up in a tight bear-hug. Rinoa, looking on, had her arms wrapped around her middle, laughing uncontrollably at Zell's friendly attack on her boyfriend.

Rinoa's laughter quickly turned to a surprised shriek as Zell set Squall back on his feet and turned his attention to Rinoa, grabbing her before she could avoid him and crushing her in a similar fashion.

"OOF! Zell…" She protested, finding it hard to draw in a breath due to the strength of his hold.

"Zell! Enough already! Leave something for Selphie to hug!" Squall admonished him, and Zell put Rinoa back down with an abashed grin.

"Sorry Rin," he apologized. "You too Squall. It's just... I'm so glad to see you finally made it back! We were all worried about you."

"You didn't act worried," Zone said, approaching the group. He studied Squall and Rinoa as he did, noting how they both appeared thinner than when he'd last seen them. Obviously the trek back hadn't been easy on either of them.

"Yeah well, you know. _Had_ to believe in him, even with him taking his sweet time getting back. Speaking of which, what took you so long anyway?" Zell asked Squall.

"I'll get to that. Is Selphie here?" Squall asked the group at large.

"No, but she should be soon. She said she'd be coming by today," Zell answered.

"Come on inside guys," Zone invited. "Make yourselves at home and I'll go get cleaned up."

"All right." Watts said, and Squall and Rinoa nodded, with the entire group following Zone into his house.

He continued through the kitchen and disappeared while Zell wandered toward the sink, grabbed a cup and filled it, drinking it down thirstily. Rinoa joined him, appropriating a cup for herself and one for Squall, filling them both and handing one to him.

"When's Selphie going to get here?" Rinoa asked Zell.

"Dunno. She usually bounces in about this time," Zell said, prompting Watts to snort.

Squall simply sipped at his water silently, studying his surroundings with interest. Watts had obviously spent a lot of time here; he appeared as at ease here as he was in his own home. He leaned casually against the kitchen counter, his attention on the back door, through which Selphie would presumably make her appearance.

While Rinoa was occupied bringing Zell and Watts up to date on their adventures, Squall's attention wandered until it was caught by something in the dim, going on shabby sitting room beyond the kitchen. Curiosity piqued, he decided to investigate.

He padded silently into the darkened room, taking in the aging furnishings and the dust that indicated the room's disuse. It coated everything…save for the small side table and the wooden chess set that sat upon it. It was beautifully made of black walnut and white oak, the board itself joined so cunningly that even the grain of the two different woods aligned. It was perfectly level and smooth as glass, and Squall could tell that it was made so by dint of much sanding and oiling, not by lacquering.

Squall picked up a piece, the black knight, and studied it as closely as he could in the dim light. It too was made of black walnut, and so finely carved that he could feel the texture of the chocobo's feathers and the heraldic device upon the knight's shield. He suddenly wished for more light so as to see the detail of the pieces better, for the workmanship was exquisite.

One by one, he examined the pieces as best he could, letting his tactile senses tell him what his eyes could not. Each piece was smoothly carved, the weight perfectly balanced, the size almost mathematically perfect in relation to the other pieces.

Finally, he picked up the Black Queen, studying her closely, his mind forming associations from the chess pieces. The queen was the strongest piece on the board, yet she was also the most vulnerable. Any strategy relying upon just her would fail the moment she was captured. The other pieces were needed: the rooks, the bishops and the knights, all of them working with her to protect the king. The pawns too played their part as sacrifices to draw out an opponents strategy, force him to show his hand.

The Queen: Rinoa. She was a powerful sorceress, but still new in her powers and vulnerable as a result. But employed correctly, she could be devastating.

The Rooks: Zell and Selphie. The cornerstones, anchor points to any strategy Squall might devise. All he had to do was to point them in a direction and they'd charge straight forward until they couldn't any longer. Whatever job he assigned them, he knew they'd complete.

The Bishops: Shrike and Kestrel. Like Selphie and Zell, they too could be used as anchor points. They too could maneuver swiftly and decisively, their arrows silent death to any target they aimed at.

The Knights: Himself of course, and the other…Watts. Squall was the Queen's Knight, Watts was the King's; each protecting his assigned monarch to the death. Strong pieces to be sure, restricted in their movements yet also capable of swift, cunning action when it was required of them.

Finally, there was the King. Zone. Arguably the weakest and most limited piece on the board, and yet the one upon whom the entire game hinged. Put the King in jeopardy and the game was over.

As Squall studied the board and the pieces, he suddenly realized something. Chess was a game of rules and strategy, but a true master never just played his pieces. He played his opponent. _That_ required knowledge of the opposing player that Squall realized he did not posses.

_Know thy enemy…_

Squall needed to find information on the Timber Garrison and the commander in charge of it. He needed to know how he'd use the _other_ pieces on the opposing side of the chessboard.

As Squall stood there studying the king piece in his hand, Zone returned, having showered and changed.

"My father made the chess set." Zone told him.

Squall looked up, then gently replaced the piece, "it's impressive work."

"Most of the furniture here he made. That was his trade. Well, carpentry was. This other stuff…was his passion." Zone explained, gesturing toward the chessboard and the chairs next to it.

"I see." Squall said. He did see. Dust covered and going on shabby, the furnishings in the sitting room still showed the quality craftsmanship that went into their production. Squall had the feeling that despite their worn and dirty appearance, the couch and chairs that were in the room still had a solid enough framework that simply reupholstering them would be all they needed to restore their beauty. And the wooden furnishings: the side table, end tables and coffee table, were truly lovely.

Turning away, Zone began walking back toward the kitchen, adding, "I tried to pick up where he left off…but…I'm not as good a carpenter as he was. I'd just started working with him when he was killed."

Squall followed him quietly. Not knowing how to reply to that statement, he remained silent.

Zone glanced back briefly at him as they entered the kitchen and turned away with a slight twist to his lips. No, he didn't expect a response from the mercenary. The guy was an orphan and obviously couldn't relate. How could he?

"Hey you," Rinoa came up to Squall and slipped an arm around his waist, "did we bore you?"

Squall frowned slightly, and replied, "No, not really…"

"He was checking out the chess set my father made," Zone supplied.

Watts' dark eyes brightened and he asked Squall, "Do you play?"

Squall nodded, "Yes."

"We have to have a game sometime. Especially if you're as good at that as you are at triple triad." Watts said.

"He's better, actually." Zell said.

"Well then, we _definitely_ have to have a game. Soon." Watts said.

Zone folded his arms across his chest and regarded Squall steadily, then said, "I think I would too." _Let's see what kind of strategist you are…_ he thought to himself.

Squall studied them both for a moment, and then nodded, "Okay. Perhaps later tonight if we've got the time."

"I don't see why we wouldn't," Watts shrugged.

"You mentioned something about finding your mole?" Squall reminded him. Zone shot him a quick look, then swallowed and looked away again, color deepening on his cheeks.

"Um, yeah…" Watts confirmed, glancing at Zone. He'd only just been made aware of that fact himself the previous night, and his feelings about the situation were decidedly mixed.

First was the sense of betrayal he'd felt that Zone, that his _brother_ , had been responsible for the leak that had cost so many their lives. Even unintended, it still angered Watts. Not only for himself and the rest of the Owls, but for Zone himself.

He'd _needed_ someone like Rowan. Watts had hated to watch Zone pine over the unattainable. It would have been easy to hate Rinoa for not returning his feelings and putting Zone through so much pain, if she had not been genuinely nice and unaware of how he felt about her. She truly cared for them both; she simply didn't care as deeply for Zone as he did for her. With Rinoa firmly and obviously attached to her mercenary, it had cheered Watts' heart to learn of Zone's dalliance with Rowan, taking it as a sign that he was finally starting to move on. Even though he'd denied loving her, the reality of her betrayal had hurt him far more than even _he_ had thought it would.

The fact that Zone was willing to use her as a conduit to funnel misinformation to the Galbadians was actually a surprise to Watts. He hadn't thought Zone capable of that. It wasn't easy on him, that much was obvious. Even though they hadn't really talked about it, Watts could almost guarantee that even though Zone was innocent of any malice or intent with regard to the leak, the fact that _he_ was the ultimate source of the information that Rowan had been trading left him with a deep sense of guilt. And from that guilt stemmed his steely resolve to correct the situation in whatever manner seemed most appropriate…up to and including executing her; another surprise for Watts.

Watts licked his dry lips, wondering how to present this information to the SeeD in such a way that Zone didn't appear as much of a dupe as he no doubt felt he was. Squall meanwhile simply waited patiently, cool eyes studying them both keenly and, Watts very much feared, missing nothing.

He'd just opened his mouth to speak when Selphie knocked on the door, calling out "Heya! Sorry it took me so long guys," as she opened it and skipped inside. She froze then, taking in the tableau in the kitchen, before screeching out, " SQUALL!" and launching herself at him.

Watts couldn't help bursting into laughter at the "oh shit!" expression on Squall's face before Selphie literally careened into him, sending him stumbling backward several steps. Zone's jaw simply dropped in shock while Rinoa and Zell were laughing as hard as Watts was.

"You're back! You're finally back! We were starting to get worried about you guys!" Selphie was saying while doing her best to crush Squall in a tight hug. She must have been doing a good job because Squall certainly didn't seem to be having much success in prying her off, and he was _trying_.

"Selphie? Uh…" Squall grunted, sounding strangled. The beseeching look he cast over at Rinoa for help only made Watts laugh harder.

"Rinoa," he gasped. "You might want to rescue your boyfriend before Selphie squeezes the life out of him!"

"I think you're right," Rinoa replied, still laughing and wiping tears from her eyes. Then she approached them both, saying, "Selphie…" That was as far as she got.

Selphie let go of Squall abruptly, prompting him to sigh deeply in relief, then turned and subjected Rinoa to the same wholehearted greeting with another earsplitting screech of, "RINNY!"

Rinoa yelped in surprise as she was enveloped in Selphie's bear-hug attack. She too nearly stumbled and fell, and Squall was actually impressed at her ability to maintain her balance in the face of Selphie's enthusiasm, knowing first hand how dangerous it could be.

He let them be for the moment; rubbing absently at his ribs and wondering if Selphie hadn't managed to crack one or two with her excessive greeting. The tiny SeeD was surprisingly strong, a fact that even _he_ tended to forget.

When things had calmed down, Selphie proceeded to bombard them both with questions, "when did you guys get back? And why are you so skinny? Was it that rough of a hike back? I mean, I could feel your _ribs_ Squall! It's not like you were fat before but…. and what took you so long anyway, did you get lost?"

When she paused to take a breath, Squall interjected wryly, "I'll answer your questions as soon as you _let_ me." Selphie and everyone else present laughed at his response.

"Sorry," she smiled sheepishly. "I'm just so happy to see you both back and in one piece."

"Obviously," came the dry response.

Then Rinoa ducked close to Selphie's ear and whispered, "He's actually glad to see you too. See the sparkle in his eyes?" Selphie glanced at her forbidding commander and saw what Rinoa had pointed out.

She'd known Squall long enough to recognize when he was in good humor or not, and while he wasn't _quite_ smiling, he wasn't far from it either. His expression had definitely lightened at least. And yes, his eyes _were_ sparkling.

Once he saw that Selphie had worked through her joy at their return, Squall briefly related the tale of his and Rinoa's trek back, explaining why it had taken so long.

Then he continued from there, "Now that everyone is here, I think we should get more serious. Watts was about to tell us who he thinks the mole within the Forest Owls is. Watts?"

"Let's all sit down first. Might as well be comfortable." _As comfortable as possible, at any rate,_ Zone thought as he gestured toward his dining room table. He knew the discussion itself would be far from comfortable for him, but had little choice but to go through with it. Rinoa and the rest of the SeeDs had to know. So far, only Zell and Watts were aware of the mole's probable identity.

Once everyone was seated and comfortable, he nodded to Watts, signaling him to continue.

Watts, sighing, said, "Right. Zone's been seeing a young woman named Rowan, and it seems that as unfortunate as this sounds, she's the one who's been trading information with the Galbadians. Zell had been keeping an eye on them both and witnessed her meeting with one of them."

Squall, Rinoa and Selphie were silent as they listened to Watts tell them their reasons for suspecting Zone's friend. Zell also was silent, leaving the storytelling to Watts and to Zone. Zone meanwhile watched Squall's reaction to the news and wasn't sure what to make of it. He sat completely motionless, face devoid of expression, the only movement being his eyes as they studied both him and Watts. Selphie on the other hand looked sympathetic, while Rinoa had drawn in a quiet breath and sat with tears swimming in her eyes and her hand over her mouth.

Zone looked away from them then and said in a low voice, "I…suspected her after certain circumstances added up that pointed to her, and Zell confirmed my suspicions." Then he took a deep breath and added, "So, ultimately, _I_ am the source of the leak."

"Did you deliver the information to the Galbadians personally?" Squall asked him coolly.

Zone transferred his gaze back to the mercenary, frowning at his question and answered, "No. No, I didn't."

"Then you cannot claim responsibility for something you did not actually do. The only thing I see you guilty of is trusting someone who apparently was not worthy of it." Squall told him.

Zone stared, not at all expecting this response from the SeeD.

Squall finally shifted, placing his elbows on the table and lacing his fingers together, then resting his chin on the resulting platform.

Narrowed blue eyes bored into Zone's as Squall then asked, "What was your plan, once your suspicions were confirmed?"

Zone met his eyes steadily, feeling more and more confident as he read little more than interest. Certainly not the anger, condemnation or contempt he'd been expecting to see.

"Well, we'd spoken of some possibilities before, you and I. I decided to go with the option of using her to feed incorrect information to the Galbadians, and play it off as though I suspected nothing. Business as usual…. well, so to speak, anyway. I led her to believe I was still sick, still weak. I even hinted at possibly quitting as the leader of the Forest Owls, acting as though Rinoa's and your loss had taken my will to fight along with it." Zone answered him.

Squall frowned thoughtfully, "that _is_ one of the scenarios we'd discussed, yes. And you were right in deciding to try and turn that to our advantage. It could work…for a little while anyway. It isn't a _perfect_ plan, but situations like this are rarely perfect. One possible problem that I can see is the fact that you're attempting to lead her to believe that you're still suffering from your ulcer when in fact you aren't. I don't know how intimate your relationship with this woman was, though I can guess. The longer you continue to train with Zell, the stronger you will become, and sooner than you think, it'll become readily apparent that you're no longer weak and ill."

Zone swallowed. He hadn't thought of that. "Should I quit? Stop training with Zell?"

Squall shook his head, "No. You need to be as strong as possible to see this through. Zell will get you there, so keep working with him."

"What should I do then, if she starts to notice that I'm looking healthier, gaining weight?" Zone asked him.

"Tell her that we finally were made aware of your illness and gave you one of our healing elixirs." Squall answered.

"In other words, tell her the truth." Zone stated.

"Of course. Only lie when you have to. There's less to worry about keeping track of that way." Squall replied.

Zone snorted, "that actually makes sense." Then he frowned and asked, "what about the other stuff I told her? That I was considering quitting because of my health and because you were gone? If I start getting healthier, won't she think that I'm gonna go back on that and keep on as the leader of the Forest Owls? That I'll keep leading the resistance?"

"She may. It depends on how well you play this role you've cast yourself in. Healthy or not, if you want her to believe that you're giving up, then do your best to convince her that you're serious." Squall answered him.

Watts, who'd been following this interchange with almost as much intense interest as Rinoa and the other two SeeDs were, finally spoke up and asked, "Should we keep your return under wraps as well?"

Squall considered this for a moment, then finally shook his head, "No. I need to be able to move freely around the town and staying hidden will make it much harder for me to accomplish what I want to accomplish. Don't noise it about that we're back, but don't deny it if you're asked."

"Well, that'll help everyone's morale at least. The general mood among the resistance wasn't very encouraging to say the least. A lot feel as though losing you has lost us our last chance at freedom." Watts answered seriously.

"Speaking of which, we really should hold another meeting. We need a progress report, see where we are with this and maybe start to come up with a solid plan to finally put an end to this once and for all." Zone said.

Squall nodded, "yes we do. But first, Selphie and I need to make another visit to the Timber Maniacs building. I need some more information on the garrison, and if possible, it's command personnel." _I need to know whom I'm playing against and what kind of player he'll be._

Before the game began, before Squall put all his pieces on the board, he had to know what to expect from his opponent. Formulating a strategy with a blind spot of that magnitude was foolish indeed.


	20. Tightrope

She walked a razor's edge. Every day, she feared discovery. She feared her friends would learn she was betraying them. She feared the Galbadians would learn she was being less than honest in what she was passing along to them. Most of all, she feared the cold-eyed mercenary, Leonhart, who already suspected an informant among the ranks.

It made her tense, nervous, every time she dallied with Zone and did her best to obtain the information that the Galbadians wanted about what the resistance was planning, and what the mercenary's role in it would be. It made her jumpy and paranoid each time she met with her contact and fancied that somewhere out in the darkened forest, a pair of ice blue eyes was watching her like a stalking lion, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

It was a very fine line that she was traversing, cooperating but only as much as would satisfy the enemy. She was lying to her friends, _and_ to her enemies, and for a very specific reason. It was her trump card, the information she was holding back. It was what the Galbadians would reward her handsomely for, should she decide to give it to them. But she didn't want to do it yet. Not until she knew more.

She knew where the secret meeting place of the resistance was, and knew that if she revealed that location to the Galbadians, they could use that information to break the back of the resistance once and for all. Slaughtering all of her friends in the process. But she wasn't ready to give it to them. She wasn't ready to take that final, damning step. Not yet.

Not until she could be sure that _all_ of the resistance members and the mercenaries were going to be there. And not until she could be absolutely certain that the Galbadians would make good on their promise to her.

She needed their assurance that her husband was still alive and that they'd let him go.

She didn't think about the fact that she was sleeping with the leader of the resistance, betraying her husband in the process, in an effort to win his freedom. He didn't need to know the lengths she'd gone to for him.

She also didn't think about the fact that he'd been in D-district prison for months, when the average life expectancy of an inmate there was just a few weeks at best. She'd been assured that he still lived, and she had to believe it. She had to.

They'd shown her a photograph of him a few weeks ago as proof that they could do what they'd said, and deliver on their agreement. He was thin, his eyes were haunted, but it was undeniably _him_ and he was undeniably _alive_. At least he was _then_. She had to know if he still was _now_.

So, yes, she took what Zone offered her, closing her eyes and thinking of her Robbie, while he doubtless did the same thing and thought of Rinoa. It helped on those cold, lonely nights when she knew that even if she did get her husband back, they could never remain in Timber. Not after what she'd had to do to free him. She was giving up everything; her home, her community, her friends and family, on the slimmest of chances that she'd be able to save him.

But if it bought her husband his freedom, if it brought him back to her whole and alive, Rowan would gladly pay whatever price his captors demanded. No matter what the cost, the end result would be worth it. It had to be.

As she watched the mercenary, Squall, walking down the street toward the pub, Rowan tried hard not to think about the abyss beneath her feet, just waiting for a fatal slip on the tightrope she walked.

* * *

Squall entered the dimly lit pub and scanned the surroundings as he casually strolled up to the bar.

"Whatta ya want, kid?" the bartender drawled. "Better not be anythin' harder than a soda pop. I don't serve to minors." Squall rolled his eyes at this. He wasn't interested in drinking.

Jerking his head toward a shadowed corner and the individual sitting there, Squall asked, "What's his tab? Surely I'm not too young to pay it off."

The bartender paused while wiping down the bar and eyed Squall speculatively, with more than a little scorn in his gaze, and replied, "Nah, I'll take yer money. If you have it."

Squall folded his arms across his chest and asked again, "What's the tab?"

"Hundred and fifty gil." The bartender replied. Squall handed over two hundred gil without comment, causing the bartender's eyes to widen.

He'd just turned away when the bartender hissed urgently, "Boy!" and motioned him closer.

"What?" Squall asked in a similarly soft voice.

"Lissen. If you got that kind of money on hand, you'd best watch yerself. There's folk around here liable to slit your throat for half of that. And the Goddam Galbadians'd be the first in line for a chance." The man warned him softly.

Squall lifted the bandanna up and off of his forehead for a moment, letting the man see the scar, and watching as recognition dawned in the man's expression before letting it drop and saying in a cold voice, "I'd like to see them try. I'm starting to get bored." Then he turned and stalked toward the table and the person whose tab he'd just paid.

The man watched him warily as he approached, but said nothing as Squall sat down across from him.

"Wolf." Squall said.

The man quirked his lips slightly, "It's Lobo." He corrected.

"Same thing." Squall said.

Lobo snorted, "One name's as good as another I guess. What's on your mind boy?" he picked up the bottle he'd been nursing and took a sip.

"I need to talk to you." Squall asked.

"I figured this wasn't actually a social call. You don't strike me as the sociable type." Lobo commented.

Squall raised his eyebrows and retorted, "And you are?"

Lobo laughed roughly, "Nope. Not a bit." Taking another sip of his beer, he added, "Still, I saw you hand over some gil to the bartender, so I'm guessing you've paid for my drinks. Sociable or not, it was damn decent of you. That being the case, we can just sit here _not_ being sociable and talk about whatever it is you want to talk about."

Squall nodded and asked, "What do you know about the garrison commander?"

"Enough to know he's a grade A asshole." Lobo answered.

"Can you be a little more specific?" Squall asked him.

Lobo frowned, "what are you after kid?"

Squall frowned in turn, saying, "You fought against him during the invasion right? And after, when the resistance and the Timber Wolves were trying to repel the Galbadians. I want to know anything that you can remember of those battles. Specifically, how the commander conducted them, the types of strategies he used, the orders he gave…anything that'll help me to get a sense of his command style, what kind of person he is. How he thinks."

"That's a tall order." Lobo said, taking another long pull from his beer. "You're asking me to dredge up a blow-by-blow of the most painful period of my life. One that happened nearly twenty years ago. One that I've done my level best to drink into oblivion."

Squall rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward, urging Lobo, "Try. I've already managed to get access to and read the official record, so I know the Galbadians' side of things. But, that's the _official_ record…the one that they sent to Deling City to report on their progress here. Its obviously been sanitized, worded to make the commander and the troops here look good. I want to know what _really_ happened. Whatever you can remember would be invaluable."

"Couldn't get the _real_ record?" Lobo asked.

"No. If it even actually existed it's obviously been expunged, or buried so deeply that no amount of hacking will ever unearth it. If it exists in any form, it's in the garrison itself, and I don't have the time or the resources to go looking for it." Squall answered him.

"Oh, I'm sure it exists, you don't run a campaign like the Timber invasion without tons of paperwork. No army moves anywhere without orders filed in triplicate. There's supply requisitions, personnel assignments, ordinance deployments, you name it; there is a record of all of it. It's just not online. They still did it the old fashioned way back in my day. But you're right. It's locked in a vault somewhere out of reach, more than likely." Lobo said, signaling the waitress for another beer. "Want one?" he asked Squall.

Squall shook his head. "I'll pass."

Lobo shrugged, "suit yourself." When the beer arrived he took a long sip, leaving Squall to wonder at the man's capacity. How long had he been sitting there drinking, and how much would he be able to trust what the man told him?

Setting the beer down, Lobo frowned pensively down at the table, heaved a deep sigh, and said, "You know, I can't drink enough to forget it. So don't worry that I'm too drunk to tell you what you want to know."

Squall waited patiently, allowing his silence to encourage the man to continue.

Lobo glanced up at him, then looked away again and said, "I was a sergeant. I wasn't in the command staff or anything like that, so I really didn't know anything of the battle strategies used. I handled ordinance distribution. Supplies. Pretty much any kind of grunt work the officers wanted to make sure got done. But that's the way it is with sergeants. We spend more time in the trenches with the grunts than in the command posts. In the end, I guess that saved my life. That and the priest. When Timber was overrun and Galbadia began to take control, all of the POW's of rank were executed immediately. Any commissioned officer that was foolish enough to be captured or surrender met that fate. Those of us that hadn't been captured yet knew right then there wouldn't be any surrender for us. We all resolved at that point to fight to the last man. By that time I was the only officer left."

Lobo sipped his beer again and returned his attention to Squall, saying, "I did my best, but I'm no strategist. I knew how to get supplies moved and things like that, but conducting a war? I was out of my depth. My legend is based on the fact that I survived. Only that. I can't even claim to have inspired the tradition of resistance here. Better men than me have done that. The only true heroes here are dead." Leaning back in his seat and taking a deep breath, Lobo fished out and lit a cigarette.

Taking a drag, he slowly exhaled the smoke and said, "It was a straight up fight, when they invaded. Timber's army put up a hard fight. Looking back on it now, we might have seemed like a joke, but despite how open our territory is, Timber had been able to repel invasions by Galbadia and Dollet, among others, quite handily before. This time, we were simply overwhelmed by sheer numbers. They just kept coming at us until we ran out of ammunition…and men."

"Do you know who commanded the Galbadian forces?" Squall asked him.

Lobo frowned, thinking. "Caraway, I think. I remember wondering why they only had a one-star General commanding the whole shootin' match; but he was smart, that one. Our commander was no slouch, but he was no match for Caraway. Of course, you don't really need to be a brilliant strategist when you've got twice the ammo and men as the other side."

Squall nodded in agreement, and then asked with a frown, "so, did the garrison commander have any involvement at all in the initial invasion or was he installed after the fact?"

"He was a colonel under Caraway." Lobo answered, adding, "He led his unit in one of the bloodiest battles in that entire campaign. Galbadia had to take the train station, and we weren't giving it up. It was our lifeline, those trains. To lose them would mean to lose the war. We'd be cut off. No way to get supplies in, no way to get anyone out. So we made our last stand there, and did our best to hold them off."

It was tricky business, trying to win the train station away from the entrenched Timber Army, what the Galbadian troops had taken to calling the "Timber wolves" for their fierceness. But General Caraway had given Colonel Jakes the job of taking the train station by whatever means necessary short of actually destroying it. They needed the trains and the track intact. Once they had control of _that,_ they had Timber. Simple as that.

They had battled for days. The Galbadians had more ammunition and personnel to spend, and if the Colonel were willing to wait, eventually his troops would overwhelm the Timber wolves by sheer numbers. But as time dragged on, he began to feel pressured to conclude the battle and win their objective.

Timber's troops began to feel pressured as well. They were running low on ammunition and supplies, not to mention able fighters. But surrender was not an option. They all knew that if they did that, they were as good as dead anyway. The Galbadians had made a point of publicly executing all of the ranking POW's that they'd captured up to that point. So they held on like grim death, everyone making peace, or trying to, with the fact that they were likely fighting their last battle for Timber.

Timber's forces had already evacuated all the residents and railway workers when they'd moved in to defend the station, though some citizens took up arms alongside them to help in the fight. Lobo appreciated the help. He was out of his depth and he knew it, but was doing his best regardless.

It was an odd twist of fate that had put Timber's destiny squarely in his hands, and despite the fact that he was a mere sergeant, thought he'd done a creditable job against the Galbadians. But he wasn't a brilliant strategist; he couldn't think his way around the fact that their foes were too much for them. He'd never wanted the responsibility that had been dropped into his lap, and he was well aware of his limitations that had kept him from reaching a commissioned rank. But if Lobo was nothing else, he was loyal to Timber. And he was also stubborn.

The frustration on Galbadia's side and the desperation from Timber's defenders finally reached a head on the fourth day of battle.

"So what happened?" Squall asked, enthralled by the tale in spite of himself.

"The Colonel was getting frustrated. You could tell he was getting tired of trying to wear us down by attrition. They couldn't just bomb the shit out of us without destroying the station and the trains; they needed them as much as we did. And we weren't giving them up. Not only because it was our last stand but also because we literally had nowhere to go. They had us bottled up; we couldn't retreat even if we wanted to." Lobo crushed out the cigarette he'd just finished smoking, then continued, "but the Colonel didn't want to wait any longer. He decided to finish us off by setting loose these…. monsters."

Squall frowned, "what kind of monsters?"

"I don't know. I'd never seen anything like them before. Like a cross between a wolf and a dragon; they had gray-green and blue fur, razor sharp claws, and blades in their tails. They were small, fast, and vicious, and they attacked in a pack. If that wasn't bad enough, they were electrically charged. Those of us that weren't slaughtered by their teeth, claws and tailblades were electrocuted by them." Lobo answered.

"Grendels." Squall said.

"What?" Lobo frowned.

"Those monsters. They're called grendels, and they're nasty." Squall stated.

"Well, whatever they are, they ripped through us like razorblades through tissue. One of those little bastards got me before I killed it. Pumped every bullet I had left into it and it still slashed me up, cut up my face and took out my eye. I lay there, bleeding and dying, and the last thing I remember seeing was the Galbadian troops, moving in behind them and mopping up what was left." Lobo told him.

Squall pondered that. Galbadia's use of monsters like that was not unknown; something similar had been done when he and his cohorts had escaped from the D-district prison. Monsters had been let loose to hunt down anyone that attempted to escape, and for some reason, they had never once attacked the soldiers or guards. But anyone else….

"They wiped out everyone. The only ones who survived were those who were injured enough to look dead. But the worst part…" Lobo swallowed, and continued thickly, "The worst part was those monsters. They didn't just stop at killing everyone that had tried to defend the train station. They kept going, kept killing. They went through the whole goddamn city and killed some thirty or forty non-combatant citizens as well. Maybe more. Women. Children. Old folks. Didn't matter. If they got in the way, they were dead."

Lobo fell silent and Squall let it be, thinking about everything that Lobo had told him. No, Lobo didn't know anything about the troop movements or the strategies that had been employed. But what he'd told Squall about that last battle _had_ in fact been invaluable. It provided a glimpse into the mindset of the man who'd conducted that battle and given the order to release those creatures.

The silence stretched until Lobo quietly said, "I don't know if what I've told you has helped at all…"

"It has. Thank you." Squall said, preparing to leave.

"I may not be much good anymore as a fighter, my game leg and missing eye's seen to that. But if there is anything I can do to help, let me know. I've been around awhile and I know a few tricks that you might not." Lobo said, making Squall pause.

"I know. Selphie told me." Squall responded, standing up and adding, "We will talk again."

"I'm sure we will. Meantime, take it easy." Lobo said, draining the last of the beer from his glass and raising it in salute as Squall turned and started to walk away. "And thanks for picking up my tab, boy. Hope it was worth it to you." Squall glanced back and nodded once, then continued out of the pub.

Lobo watched him go, remembering how he'd managed to survive that battle. His heart had stubbornly continued to beat while the priest and some of his congregation had snuck into the battle site after everything was over, looking for survivors. Under the cover of darkness, they were all carried to the cathedral and into the priest's own sanctuary, where they were cared for until they were well.

While he was healing, and getting used to living with only one eye, he met and struck up a friendship with a local carpenter, whose woodworking talents were such that the priest employed him frequently to maintain the exquisitely carved pews and wooden frescoes and screens in the church.

It was that carpenter, a widower with a young son, that had the charisma and the needed passion to inspire everyone around him to continue to fight, drawing Lobo back into the fray as soon as he was able. Other men and women gathered their friends, families and neighbors together as well, the will to resist subjugation even as Galbadia was taking over spreading like a virus.

The fighting went underground then; lack of manpower and ordinance forcing them into guerilla tactics. Lobo, along with the carpenter, Daniel Zonarski and his partner, Benjamin Watson, gathered together the remaining Timber Wolves and everyone else that still wanted to fight and formed a resistance group, dubbing it "The Forest Owls".

Other resistance groups had come and gone since, and Lobo himself had thought he'd seen the last of the Owls when Danny and Ben had been killed, only to watch as their sons, then only twelve and fourteen, took over to continue the fight. He'd done his best to help them, watching over them as he figured their fathers would want him to do.

But there didn't seem to be any end in sight. They were amateurs and they knew it, and Lobo's limitations were such that he simply couldn't be what they needed to finish the fight and win their freedom once and for all. It was a bitter pill to take, acknowledging that.

But this young mercenary and his cohorts…. they might just provide the edge needed to prevail. One look in the boy's cold blue eyes had convinced him of that.

The look he saw in Squall's eyes as he recounted his tale was the same cold, implacable look he'd seen in Colonel Jakes' eyes as he toured the battlefield, and calmly shot dead a wounded Timber soldier that had made the mistake of moaning and opening his eyes as he'd walked past.

Lobo took another drink of his beer. Still a little soon to tell, but it was beginning to appear that the Colonel just might meet his match in the young SeeD.

* * *

Squall walked toward Vulpe's house, mulling over what he'd learned from Lobo while watching the area alertly. He'd reluctantly left his pack and gunblade at her house, realizing that he couldn't take it or his weapon _everywhere_ without it eventually attracting notice. Consequently, he felt naked, exposed. Like he had a target painted on the center of his back. Fortunately, Vulpe owned the pub (Squall had only just learned that the bartender was her husband) and her home was very close to it, so it was a short walk.

But as he crossed the short distance from the pub to the home, Squall had the sense of being watched. He scanned the area casually while he walked, looking for anything that was out of the ordinary. Out of place. Trying to find whose eyes were upon him…without looking for that person too obviously.

His gaze slid casually over the milling citizens, all appearing bent on going about their business. It collided and moved away from the soldiers that sometimes mingled with the townsfolk, and sometimes stood apart and watched them with narrowed, suspicious eyes. Squall was careful not to lock gazes with them or do anything that might attract attention.

Then his awareness was caught by something out of place. A young woman was standing still amid the ebb and flow of the crowd; standing apart like the soldiers, staring in his direction. Watching him.

Squall's eyes locked with hers. They widened, and he saw a flash of fear before she tore her gaze away and melted into the crowd. He paused, eyes narrowed, watching her leave and imprinting her appearance into his memory. Long, black hair, dark eyes, pale skin, oval shaped face and full, sensuous lips…if one squinted right, she bore a slight resemblance to Rinoa.

He wondered at that, at what it could mean, and also wondered if this might not be the woman Rowan, that Zone had identified as the mole within the Forest Owls. If she were, she would bear watching. Fortunately, Zell had already taken on that task and continued with it, reporting his findings to Squall and Zone regularly.

Shrugging inwardly, he continued to Vulpe's house, knocking on the door upon reaching it. Vulpe opened it and allowed him entry. Rinoa immediately came up and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly, the moment he walked through the door. Squall hugged her back and rested his cheek against her hair, wondering why she was clinging to him so tightly.

"I'm glad you made it back," Rinoa murmured softly into his chest.

Squall frowned down at her, "I was barely gone. The pub's practically next door."

"I know. I just…. had a bad feeling." Rinoa said.

Squall caressed her hair lightly and replied, "Well, I'm fine, although I can see what you mean about having a bad feeling about things. I felt like someone was watching me as I was walking back from the pub. I caught her at it too."

"Her?" Rinoa asked, peering up at him. Squall nodded.

"What did she look like?" Zone asked him.

"Petite, long black hair, dark eyes, oval shaped face…" Squall answered him. "She was just across the way, but melted into the crowd once she saw that I'd noticed her. Rowan?"

Zone sighed heavily, "yes."

"Hmm. Well, we'll have to add her to the list of things we need to discuss tonight." Squall said.

"So, you've learned something useful from Lobo then?" Zone asked him. Squall nodded.

"I need you, Watts, and one of the twins. Either Shrike or Kestrel, it doesn't matter which. We'll still need to get everyone together as a group, but I want to hold off on that until I have something solid planned out." Squall told him.

"What are you planning, a brainstorming session?" Rinoa asked.

"Yes." Squall answered her, then added, "I'm mostly interested in any ideas or anything at all that you or anyone else you know of might be able to contribute."

"Is it because of…" Selphie began, to be cut off by Squall.

"Yes. We'll get to that Selphie. But I want the principals together to hear it first hand." He said firmly. Selphie nodded.

"I'll get word to Kestrel to meet us at Watts' place." Zone said.

Squall nodded, "Good. Selphie, Zell, let's go." Squall reluctantly left Rinoa's side to pick up and put on his backpack, immediately feeling better now that his gunblade was back within reach. Then he led the way from Vulpe's house through the forest to Watts' house.

"So, I take it you have the makings of a plan?" Zell asked him as they walked.

"I have an idea or two, yes. But I need to make sure that all the pieces I have to play with are the ones that I need." Squall answered. Zell gave him a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Just wait. I'll explain it when everyone else is there." Squall told him.

"All right." Zell replied.

"So what did you and Lobo talk about?" Watts asked Squall.

"The last battle of the Timber Wolves." Squall answered.

"The fight for the train station." Watts said. Squall nodded.

"I remember my father telling me about it. A lot of people died in that battle, soldier and civilian alike." Watts commented.

"So I understand." Squall replied.

"Well, if you want stories of that time, nobody better than Lobo to ask about them. He doesn't always like to tell them but he will if he thinks it'll serve a purpose." Watts observed.

Squall nodded, "It did. When everyone's together I'll tell you what conclusions I drew from it."

"Okay," Watts said. They arrived at Watts' home shortly after that.

Gram hailed them as she observed their arrival; calling out, "busy day today boys?"

"Yes Gram," Watts answered her. "Lotta odd jobs needed doing today."

Squinting over at Squall, Gram asked, "How's the pest control coming?"

"Haven't encountered any pests that needed killing. Yet." Squall answered in a droll tone.

"Well," Gram said slowly. "If you decide to take on a hornet's nest, best be sure you've got a plan in mind to handle 'em all."

Squall looked at her sharply, eyes narrowed. How much did that old lady know, anyway? He wondered as she returned his gaze with a bland expression of her own.

"We will." Squall finally replied cautiously, watching the woman warily.

"Yep. I'm sure you will. You don't look the type to go off half-cocked, unlike your friend the bouncing chocobo." Gram commented.

"Hey!" Zell protested, planting both feet on the ground and both fists on his hips, glaring at the old woman. Watts, Selphie and Rinoa all laughed at his reaction, and even Squall snorted in amusement.

Then Squall sobered, and eyeing the old lady seriously, warned her, "don't go speculating on our extermination plans to your friends and neighbors. Wouldn't want the competition to get wind of it."

"Don't worry boy. It's tough enough to make do without folk making things harder by spreading wild stories." She assured him. Squall nodded, satisfied.

Then he surprised everyone when he asked the old woman with a half-smile, "You wouldn't happen to play chess, would you?"

* * *

Zone arrived some time later with both Kestrel and Shrike in tow while Squall was in the process of getting things organized for their planning session.

"I only needed _one_ of them here," Squall told him with a frown.

Zone shrugged, "You want one, you get the other."

"Tha's right. 'Cause we got the same mind, don't we bro?" Shrike said, arm companionably over his brother's shoulder.

"If you say so," Kestrel said mildly.

Looking from one to the twin to the other, Squall said, "So, am I to understand then that you've got just one brain between you?"

Squall's deadpan, serious delivery of that question caught everyone off guard, including the brothers. In fact, Kestrel had actually started to answer it before he caught on.

"Ye- wait…." He began, then stopped and burst into laughter. Shrike was a little slower to catch on; everyone else was already roaring by the time he got the joke.

Gasping for air, Kestrel finally managed to ask, "Since when did you have a sense of humor Squid?"

Raising one eyebrow, Squall studied them both coolly and answered, "I do not have a sense of humor that I'm aware of. That was a serious question, asked in an effort to determine your collective level of intelligence. Now Shite, Kraplich, if you'll follow me to the dining room, we have some serious matters to discuss." Laughter erupted again, though Squall's expression never changed. Zone and Watts simply stared in shock while Zell and Selphie were holding their sides and gasping for air.

Squall turned away and caught Rinoa's eye, giving her a conspiratorial wink and a slight smirk as he led them to the dining room.

Bringing up the rear, Kestrel asked his brother, "Did he just get my name confused with the Old Centran word for crap?"

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure he called me the Shumi word for 'shit'." Shrike answered.

Kestrel started laughing then, saying, "I don't think he confused anything, actually." He was still chuckling as they reached the dining room.

Approaching Squall, still laughing softly, he doffed his hat and stuck his hand out, saying, "Well played Commander. I was not aware that you knew both Shumi _and_ Old Centran."

Folding his arms across his chest and ignoring the outstretched hand, Squall simply replied, "It's SQUALL."

"Well, _Squall_ , where I come from, it's generally considered good manners to shake a hand that's offered to you in friendship." Kestrel said mildly, hand still outstretched. Squall considered that, then nodded.

"Fair enough." He said, reaching out and grasping Kestrel's outstretched hand strongly.

"Well, now that everyone you wanted to talk to is here, why don't we get started?" Zone asked him.

Squall nodded and gestured toward the table. "Take a seat, everyone."

Sitting down himself, Squall picked up a sheaf of papers, notes that he'd taken while he and Selphie had been in the Timber Maniacs building accessing their network and using it for research. Once again, she had hacked into the garrison's network, obtaining personnel files on all of the officers currently present and active and getting an update on troop strength and movement. Despite the temptation to go farther and dig deeper once in there, Squall had limited Selphie's time within the network, not wanting their intrusion to be detected. The longer they stayed in and mucked about in there, the greater the risk of discovery.

Once they had finished with that, Squall had checked his email and messages, including reports from SeeDs stationed in Deling City to keep tabs on developments there. From them, he'd learned of a very important change in the situation. General Caraway had finally succeeded in gaining control of Deling City and by extension, Galbadia.

For the moment, he was still occupied with cleaning up the damage wrought by the civil war and restoring the city, as well as the country, to normal. But once that had been accomplished, he would finally begin to give a thought to the garrison stationed in Timber that had not reported to its command chain in far too long. And given the fact that this was _General Caraway_ that had taken over, chances were good that it would be sooner, rather than later.

In order to solidify his control of Galbadia, the general first had to have complete control of the military. That meant that he'd be auditing any and all troop assignments, including the relatively unimportant station in Timber. This in turn meant that time had suddenly become very short. They had to act and they had to act _now_ , before the general directed his attention to the garrison and decided to send in reinforcements.

Glancing over to Selphie and Zell, then meeting Rinoa's eyes for a long moment, served to help Squall ground himself and focus on what he had to report, and what he wanted to accomplish.

Taking a deep breath, he began, "Earlier today, Selphie and I entered the Timber Maniacs offices. While there, she accessed their computer systems and used them to hack into the Timber Garrison's database, obtaining some valuable information. I was also able to get an update on the situation in Deling City from a SeeD contact there, which has direct bearing on our plans here." pausing for a moment, he took a quick sip of water.

Continuing on, he said, "I've just learned that General Caraway has gained control of Deling City. Martial law is still in effect there, and the report hinted that he might still be working at solidifying his control of the Galbadian military. But a conservative estimate from my contact indicates that he's at eight-five percent or better with regards to his control over Galbadia as a whole, ninety-five percent in Deling City. They've started repair and clean up efforts at any rate, so he's not wasting any time in attempting to bring the city back to normal." Squall paused again to let that information sink in.

"So, this means…what, exactly?" Zone asked him, finally breaking the oppressive silence that had fallen.

"It means time is running short for us to act. We have a very narrow window of opportunity, and it's going to get narrower the longer we wait. Eventually, Caraway is going to get things squared away in Deling City and when he does, he'll start paying attention to the outlying garrisons. Including the one here in Timber. If we haven't done something by that time, our chances of accomplishing our aims dwindle to virtually nothing." Squall answered.

"What do we do then? Do you have a plan?" Watts asked him.

"I have an idea, but I'm going to need everyone's input to make it work." Squall replied.

"Whatever you need from us man, you have it," Shrike said. Kestrel nodded in agreement. Zone and Watts echoed their sentiment.

"Good." Squall said. Turning to Zone and Watts, he asked them, "I need an update on supplies and how everyone here is faring. Have we managed to at least take some of the pressure off?"

"Yes." Zone answered. "After we got back from the hunting trip, Kestrel and Shrike got a caravan going with some of our more…. enterprising…merchants, and escorted them to Dollet. I still don't know how they escaped the notice of the garrison's soldiers, but I think that was while you were still out creating havoc in the forests between here and there. So things are going a little better with regards to supplies."

"Still no coffee though," Watts commented, chuckling softly at Rinoa's audible sigh.

"What about weapons? Munitions?" Squall asked them.

"We've got…I dunno, a couple thousand arrows I guess. Our crew's been makin' them whenever we got a spare moment." Shrike answered.

Kestrel added, "The entire clan numbers about two hundred, but only eighty are active fighters. The rest are children, old folk, mothers with babies, and people that can't fight for other reasons. They're the ones that make the arrows, cast the bullets, fill and crimp the shells. Everyone has at least one rifle along with a bow, and everyone knows how to use his or her weapon. Our last tally had us at around three or four thousand rounds of various types of bullets. Mostly rifle shells, and mostly of the high velocity variety."

"The active fighters are called the Raptors. Their leader has authorized us to act on his behalf here tonight. We're yours to command, Squall." Shrike said solemnly. Squall nodded, then glanced over at Zone.

Taking the hint, Zone said, "Our cache has a total of fifty assault-type rifles, and twenty side arms of various calibers. We've stocked as much ammo as we could, but it still amounts to only two hundred rounds per rifle, and about fifty per sidearm. We've done a little better with improvised explosives, as I'm sure Selphie's already told you."

"She has." Squall replied. The tally of homemade bombs was pretty impressive. More than they actually needed in fact, as Squall did not intend to _destroy_ the garrison.

No. Instead, he intended a far more difficult result. He intended to _win_ the garrison, driving out the Galbadians and using it as a base to keep Timber free. And he was prepared to fight to the last drop of his blood, prepared to slaughter every last soldier in the garrison if he had to, in order to accomplish that aim.

"What numbers can we count on to fight?" Squall asked the group at large, directing his attention to both Zone and Watts.

"What numbers do we face?" Zone asked him in turn.

Squall frowned at that question, looking down at the sheaf of papers that  
Selphie had printed out for him. He finally had the headcount of the garrison's fighting strength, and didn't much care for the numbers.

"Timber's not a large town, so they didn't need a large garrison to control it," Squall answered. "But it's large enough. They have a total fighting force of eight hundred men."

"Eight hun…" Zone began, his voice failing him. He swallowed, staring at Squall.

"That… that's more than twice what we can muster from among all of the resistance groups." Watts said.

Silence fell. Squall studied each of those present in turn. Selphie and Zell, and Rinoa; he knew the metal they'd been forged from, in uncounted battles at his side during their quest to rid the world of Ultimecia's evil. Shrike and Kestrel had shown themselves to be able hunters and trackers, but had yet to prove themselves in battle. Likewise with Zone and Watts. They were an unknown quantity, too unknown for him to place his trust in.

But they were what he had to work with; they and whatever resistance members and sympathizers that they could rally.

It was time to set the board. Time to plan out a strategy. Squall knew as much as he was able to learn about the garrison commander, his personnel, and the equipment he had to work with. He had, with Selphie's help, managed to obtain a printout of the garrison's blueprints, which he had spent hours studying. Standing up, he left the dining room briefly to retrieve the precious documents, unrolling them out upon the table.

Knocking upon the wood, he said, "Blueprints for the entire garrison, including barracks, munitions storage, motor pool, infirmary and mess. We have patrol routes. Sentry schedules. Details of their security set up."

Bracing his hands on either side of the unrolled blueprints, Squall said firmly, "you need to muster all of the resistance members, sympathizers, and citizens that you can. Put the word out. Let them know that when the time comes, _everyone_ will be needed."

Zone stared at the papers, then up at Squall's hard, implacable expression, suddenly knowing exactly what the SeeD had in mind.

"You plan on attacking the garrison," he breathed, aghast at the mercenary's bold audacity.

"No." Squall corrected him, spearing him with eyes of cold blue steel. "I plan on _taking_ it."


	21. Castles

"You're out of your mind." The words slipped out of Zone's mouth before he could stop them. Before his mind caught up to call them back. It was one thing to sneak in to the garrison to raid it for food or ammunition, they were careful to engage as few soldiers as possible, preferring stealth and the corresponding lack of casualties that resulted. It was quite another to launch an all out attack on the fortified stronghold.

The truth was, under Zone's leadership, the Forest Owls had operated more like thieves than freedom fighters.

It wasn't that he lacked courage. Not really. Yes, the thought of having to go into an actual battle where chances were good that he'd get killed if he didn't muster up the gumption to kill first _did_ scare him. It scared him a lot. But despite that fear, and the pain it had caused him due to his ulcer, he'd still done his best to help out his friends and the community as a whole. He'd still done his best to fight; even if that wasn't something he had a great deal of skill in doing.

But he'd known from the first that he was out of his depth, which was why Rinoa's success in hiring SeeD had been such a relief. It still was, though not in the way he had imagined.

"They outnumber and outgun us by at least two to one from a secured, fortified position. It's impossible." He added.

" _Nothing's_ impossible." Zell said. Selphie and Rinoa nodded in agreement.

"Okay, maybe not impossible, but very, very difficult." Watts interjected. The twins were oddly silent, paying close attention to the proceedings but that was all.

"Did you _really_ think that just because you'd managed to hire SeeDs to help you that this would be _easy_?" Squall asked them scornfully. "Nothing worth doing is done _easily_."

Zone met Squall's eyes again and tried not to let the odds discourage him. He knew that the mercenary was right; no great achievement is won easily. And what greater achievement to aspire to was there than Timber's freedom?

"I assume you have a plan for how to do this," Zone stated.

"I have the beginnings of one. I need your help to flesh it out and make it workable. I need to be able to count on every piece to do the job they're supposed to before I even start the game." Squall replied.

Zone frowned; confused for a moment, before he remembered how intently Squall had been studying his father's chessboard. Of course. Chess was a game of strategy; it wasn't so unusual that the SeeD would employ his knowledge of the game to help him to visualize what he needed to do. Using that same logic, Zone was finally able to follow Squall's thought process…somewhat.

Then he had it; snapping his eyes up to meet Squall's, Zone breathed, "Castles."

"Yes." Squall confirmed.

"But, I don't understand…there's no king to defend here. No leader to protect. The resistance _has_ no central leadership. It's always been that way…" _since Watts' and my fathers both died…_ Zone began, and then stopped at Squall's intent gaze.

"And it has been both a strength and a weakness for the resistance. With no central leader, there was no one to actually _lead_. But there was also no _one_ person that the entire hope of the resistance rested upon, so the _idea_ of resistance continued on, despite the loss of so many different leaders of so many different, splintered groups. That needs to change. _One_ person has to take charge of all of the resistance groups and _lead_ them; unite them all toward a common goal. That one person also needs to win through and continue on to rebuild the town and its identity again. Therefore, he must have the courage to fight, and the strength to lead. He must also be someone that Timber's resistance already knows and trusts." Squall told him.

Zone swallowed. Squall couldn't actually be hinting at making _him_ the leader, was he? Then he suddenly figured out that he already _was_ ; Squall had simply recognized it sooner than he had. He hadn't realized that it wasn't just the Forest Owls that had been looking to him for leadership lately; but _all_ of the resistance groups, even the ones that had been dormant up until now.

"My SeeDs and I, we will help you. It's what we were hired to do. I will lead the battles, but you must be the one to lead the war. You must be the one to inspire hope, inspire courage. You have far more invested in this outcome than I or my comrades ever will, and that is why you are the logical, _only_ choice for this task. You are stronger than you realize. It's time to show some of that strength." Squall said firmly.

"And yet, I'm the king. The weakest and most limited piece on the chessboard. Isn't that what you're hinting at here?" Zone asked him.

"Yes, in the sense that you're very important to the outcome. You lose the king and you lose the game. The same theory applies here. We don't have the manpower for you to sit out the battle to come but you won't be going in undefended. Zell will be your Rook. Your defense. But that's in battle. Right now, your most important contribution is your ability to rally support for the resistance and getting the different groups to cooperate with each other." Squall answered him.

Zone took a deep breath to calm his suddenly racing heart. Racing with both fear and oddly, anticipation. This was _really_ going to happen. For good or ill, they were about to start an all out war, and despite having Zell be his defender, Zone was under no illusions that he'd be safe. He could still be killed. But the reward, if they won, was worth that risk. And if they _didn't_ win, then at least they wouldn't be living under Galbadia's oppressive rule any longer. They would be dead; and Zone decided that win or lose, based on that outcome, either way they would be free.

"All right. Tell me what you've got in mind." Zone ordered Squall. Then he gulped, suddenly realizing the authoritative tone he'd taken with the SeeD commander. Meeting Squall's gaze, he was on the verge of apologizing for being so presumptuous but stopped when he saw the look in the SeeD's eyes. Approval. Respect. And a hint of warning, telling him clearly, _don't apologize._

"Our first move has to draw them out of the garrison. And lure them into an ambush where we can wipe them out and cut down their numbers. Our next move will be more difficult; we'll have to gain access to the garrison itself and take the fight to them." Squall told the group at large.

Zone and Watts both frowned, wondering how Squall proposed to do that. Zell, Selphie and Rinoa looked thoughtful, as though formulating ideas of their own.

Watts finally asked the questions that sat in many minds during that planning session: "What would lure them out to an ambush? And how would we set that up?"

Squall focused his attention on Zone and said succinctly, "Rowan."

"What?" Zone asked, staring.

"Seeing her this afternoon, it got me to thinking. And I realized something. I'd seen her before. Granted, the lighting in the caverns was pretty sketchy, but she looked familiar to me, and not just because she looks a lot like Rinoa." Squall said, prompting Rinoa to gasp and stare at Zone, whose cheeks bloomed crimson as he avoided her eyes.

"She _was_ in the caverns when you first arrived here," Zone murmured.

"If she knew where we were meeting, where the cache was, why haven't we all been killed yet? The Galbadians could've had us all in one shot and that would be it. Game over." Watts wondered.

"She doesn't know where the cache is," Zone said flatly. "But she _has_ asked about it."

"She must be waiting for somethin'" Shrike commented.

Squall glanced over at him and nodded, "That makes sense. And I think I know what she's waiting for. Another conclave. Another meeting of all the resistance groups. If she reported the time and place of that meeting, they could attack and kill us all, destroying the Timber resistance movement once and for all."

"What do we do now? We'll have to move everything out to our backup location, put the word out that the caverns have been compromised…it'll delay things while we transfer everything over and circulate the information." Zone said worriedly. "As short on time as we seem to be, this could be a major setback."

"Maybe not. This _may_ in fact be a perfect set up." Squall said, adding, "get the cache moved, set the meeting up for the secondary location, but move the date up. Make it as soon as possible. And make it a point to let the information about our _original_ meeting slip the next time you're with Rowan." Zone swallowed, nodding.

Turning to Selphie and Zell, Squall instructed, "I want you two to help out with moving the cache, and Selphie, I want you to distribute as many of the bombs you've made as possible throughout the cavern. Pay particular attention to the exits. I want each and every one of them rigged."

"What kind of trigger?" Selphie asked him.

"It'll have to be a manual one. We'll need to make sure that the Galbadians are committed to the attack before we trigger anything." Squall said.

"That could potentially be a suicide mission." Zell observed.

"It might be." Squall said, glancing at him. Zell shrugged, unconcerned.

"They'll never go for it, not if they get there and the place is deserted." Zone said.

"Then we'll have each group send a couple of volunteers. Enough that it looks like the meeting is still on. But we'll be armed and ready for their attack. We'll fight just hard enough to draw them in, then escape through one of the emergency exits, triggering the bombs as we go. Once everyone's out, we'll blow that exit too." Squall said.

Zone and Watts both stared at Squall as they thought about the probable results. The cave system was relatively stable but there were areas that it was inadvisable to venture too far into. Cave-ins happened. And Zone in particular suddenly felt sick as he realized _that_ was Squall's intent. Lure the soldiers into the caves and blow all the exits, trapping them inside. The lucky ones would die in the inevitable cave in that resulted from the explosions.

And it was a classic opening move. You always had to clear the pawns from your path before you could advance.

"Okay, that takes care of the first step. How do we move on from there?" Zone asked.

"Well, after we've accomplished the ambush, we're going to want to hit the base itself. Timing will be crucial here; they change perimeter guards at regular intervals, and all entrances and exits are electronically locked via a pass code that changes every eight hours." Glancing over at Shrike and Kestrel, Squall added, "I was thinking your group might be handy here. Station yourselves around the perimeter of the garrison and when you hear our signal to start the attack, take out all perimeter guards with your arrows. Quick. Silent. No one would be alerted to an incoming attack. Now, here's where your experience with the raids will be handy Zone."

Raising his eyebrows, Zone asked him, "how so?"

"Information gathered by Zell and myself regarding the raids that you'd been involved with tells me one thing: you do your best to minimize casualties by avoiding confrontations with the garrison's soldiers whenever possible. That means you know the best routes into the garrison with the lowest possible chance of detection. Now, ideally, I would like us to take control of the garrison so that it could be converted into a base for Timber's use, but if that's not a realistic goal then I'm not opposed to destroying it. That's why I want us to come in as close as possible to the armory." Squall told him.

"Security will be higher there," Watts commented.

"You obviously have your ways around it, as do we." Squall said. Watts and Zone both nodded.

"You're going to do this in squads, right?" Zell asked.

Glancing over at him, Squall nodded. "Yeah. I still need to work out squad assignments, need to think about what job I want each squad to do and the best personnel to assign those jobs."

Zone spoke up, "Don't worry about the electronic locks. We aren't high tech here, but we've got our ways around that, ways that have worked in the past."

Squall focused his attention back onto Zone and said, "Show me."

Standing up, Zone smoothed the printed out blueprints, saying, "As you've already noticed, the local grunts here aren't the most observant lot. That coupled with the fact that, as with any other government built facility, the construction of said facility is always awarded to the lowest bidder. You'll inevitably have some design flaws as a result, which may or may not have been caught during the planning and construction process." Tapping on the papers, Zone directed Squall's attention to the schematic, adding, "and here it is. A blind corner that the external cameras can't see due to inadequate range of motion and the awkward placement of an air conditioning unit. A fairly easy to scale section of wall, and a maintenance hatch leading to the crawlspace from the roof; from the crawlspace you can gain access to a fairly innocuous storage closet, and from there into the base's administrative offices. Nothing much of importance there, so they don't pay much attention to security; nobody's gonna break into the offices there because anything classified or of a sensitive nature is housed elsewhere. So, that's our in, and fortunately, that's one piece of information that Rowan never got her hands on. She was never involved in any of our raids and we never discussed openly our means of access."

"Are you sure?" Squall asked him pointedly, and Zone frowned, thinking.

"Yes." He finally answered. "She may have told her contacts when and where we were raiding, but never how we go into the base in the first place. Only our targets. And it was only the last few raids we tried…. the others were successful. Yes, they were waiting for us, but never where we got in. They ambushed us where our targets were." Squall nodded, satisfied.

He fell silent for a moment, thinking about what they'd do once they were in the base. They'd have to have a group secure the armory and motor pool, taking their use away from the Galbadians and using their own weapons against them. Two more groups would have to take out the sentries guarding the garrison's access points: the main and the rear gates, letting the rest of the resistance into the base. Finally, a group would have to go in search of the command personnel. And here Squall was a little undecided on his next course of action: convince the base commander that the resistance had control of the garrison and give them a chance to simply leave, or kill them all and tell the rank and file in no uncertain terms to either leave or die.

Finally he said, "Zone, you're in charge of taking control of the armory. You're familiar with where it is and you've raided it before. Watts and Zell will be with you as your backup. Once you've secured the armory, take control of the motor pool as well. Selphie, I'm going to have you and the twins in charge of taking out the sentries and making sure that everyone else in the resistance knows the attack is on."

"What about you?" Zone asked.

"Rinoa and I are going to go cut the head off the snake."

Zone stared at him as silence fell at his statement, understanding slowly dawning. Finally he said, "checkmate."

"Exactly."

"Wait. What do you mean, _checkmate_?" Rinoa asked Squall, trying to follow his strategy and becoming hopelessly lost. She wasn't a chess player, so the way he'd been outlining his idea had confused her. But the 'cut the head off the snake' comment, _that_ had been crystal clear.

Squall planned on killing the base commander.

After her mind's initial reflexive recoil at the thought of what amounted to cold-blooded murder, Rinoa pushed aside her emotions to think about it logically. It made sense. Without their commander to rally them, the troops would likely surrender and be easier to send packing back to Deling City. With their tails between their legs, a thought that provided Rinoa with a great deal of satisfaction.

Besides that, Rinoa had heard of and witnessed firsthand the command culture that the Colonel had fostered. Despite her estrangement from her father, Rinoa couldn't help but learn _some_ things from him. One of those things was the fact that the lowest ranking members of a man's command took their behavior cues from _him_. It was a military truism going back centuries: the actions of the lowliest grunt will reflect the man who leads him.

If the man were brutal and sadistic, then that culture, that mindset, would be fostered in his troops, either consciously or subconsciously. If that was not the image that he wanted to present, then that behavior would be punished. If however it _was_ , then he would turn a blind eye to it. Going by the behavior of the soldiers in Timber, Rinoa suspected the latter was true.

Rinoa was fairly confident in thinking that there were few in Timber that would mourn the man's demise.

"It's a chess term," Squall answered her. "It means the King is in immediate danger and cannot escape. When the King is threatened or compromised, the game is over."

"You're referring to the base commander as the king, right?" Rinoa asked him. Squall nodded.

"And your intent is to kill him?" Rinoa asked.

"Yes." Squall answered, watching Rinoa, face unreadable.

It made her nervous when he did that, because it was nearly impossible to tell what was on his mind or what he was feeling. But something in her expression compelled him to explain further.

"What I learned from Lobo influenced this decision Rinoa. The man will not hesitate to kill _us_ and punish the entire population of Timber in retaliation. Giving him the opportunity to surrender would backfire on us and be seen as an exploitable weakness by him." Squall told her.

"And by killing _him_ , you hope to force the surrender of the base as a whole, right? So we don't have to kill every last soldier there?" Rinoa asked.

"Not _just_ him," Squall clarified. "But the entire command staff. Leave them completely leaderless. Galbadian soldiers aren't chosen for their ability to think independently. With no one giving them orders to follow, they won't know what to do. They will have no other choice but to surrender then."

Addressing the group as a whole, Squall added, "This will take some precise timing. We don't want to rouse everybody at the base right off the bat. Even if our ambush works and cuts down their numbers somewhat we still have the disadvantage of attacking them on their home ground. So we need to be quick, and above all, _quiet_. Once we're in the base itself, you'll go directly to the armory first Zone, and Zell will help you guys gain control of it, then the motor pool. Then you will _hold that position_. Selphie, you'll be in charge of taking out the guards at the front gate, Shrike, you'll have the rear. Once the rest of the resistance has gained entrance to the base, I want you to send some backup to Zell and Zone to help them hold their objective. Hopefully, through all of this, we'll have been quiet and precise enough that no alarm will have been raised so we won't have more to deal with than necessary."

"Quiet we can do," Shrike said, his brother nodding in agreement. "Arrows are much quieter than bullets."

"I was counting on that." Squall said, then he added. "While you guys are doing that, Rinoa and I will be heading for the barracks, searching for our targets."

"They should be here," Zone said, tapping at an area on the garrison's map near the barracks.

Squall frowned as he studied the map, then asked Zone, " _All_ of them?"

"I believe so." Zone answered.

Squall shook his head, "It confuses me how Galbadia's military is such a power when so many idiots are involved it its operation. The entire command staff? All grouped in one place? It's like they're _asking_ to be taken out."

"Obviously, nobody's ever attacked the base and targeted the officers specifically." Zone said.

"Well, it works for _us_ , anyway. If this is accurate, then a few well-placed bombs will do the job quite nicely." Squall said.

"And once that's done…" Watts began.

"Once that's done, we'll make an announcement over the base's PA system, calling for the remaining soldiers to surrender and declaring Timber's independence." Squall finished.

Watts and Zone met each other's eyes, both thinking the same thing, feeling the same stirring excitement that the other felt. It wasn't just an idea anymore; it was a _plan_ … a solid, workable plan. This was really going to happen, and Zone already knew that whatever Squall set out to do, he _did_.

"Then we can ring the bells," Zone said quietly.

"Yes." Watts agreed. Shrike and Kestrel both nodded silently, eyes glittering suspiciously.

Squall sensed the shift in the emotions of those gathered in this planning session and didn't quite understand it. Nor did he understand _how_ he had sensed those emotions in the first place. Then he looked at Rinoa, and saw the same emotion shining in her eyes as she reached forward and placed her hand over his.

"Rinoa?" Squall asked, wondering if she would clarify Zone's comment.

Rinoa's breath caught in her throat as she sensed Squall's confusion and realized that the weight of her emotions had seeped out and was affecting the mood…affecting _him_. She kicked herself mentally for her inattention and firmed up her barriers, stopping the leak.

Clearing her throat, she assured him, "I'll explain it to you later."

Squall nodded, satisfied, and Rinoa sighed inwardly with relief.

"Anyone have any questions or comments?" He addressed the group at large. They all collectively shook their heads.

"We'll continue working out the details, and when we get together with everyone we'll present it. Zone, I don't have to remind you to make sure that Rowan is _elsewhere_ at that time, do I?" Squall said pointedly.

Zone shook his head, "No. She knows nothing about the backup location. That contingency was put in place long before she became involved, but it's never been used. Not a lot of the newer members even know about it. It was something my father set up."

"I see. We'll end this for now. If any of you have any ideas or information that you think is relevant to our plans, either come to me, or make sure that information gets to Zell or Selphie. Until the next time we discuss this, travel safely home." Squall said.

Everyone nodded and the meeting disbanded soon after that.

* * *

They were getting ready for bed later that night when Rinoa commented softly, "I forget sometimes, exactly what you are."

Squall froze for a moment, then continued pulling his shirt off, asking coolly, "what do _you_ think I am…exactly?"

Rinoa hesitated, seeing hurt in his cool indifference. Thinning her shields a bit confirmed it. She had seen him planning all of their engagements throughout the Ultimecia campaign. Even when the plan to defeat her was outlined by Laguna, Squall had to actually carry out its execution. Which meant that while someone else provided the framework, the actual detail of how to carry it out was Squall's responsibility.

She'd seen his mind work, she knew how he thought…but it had still chilled her to see him calmly planning to massacre the entire command staff of the base. She understood why he felt he had to do that, she even agreed, though a part of her was disturbed at its necessity.

He'd been trained to kill since childhood, trained to make strategic command decisions based on logic and expedience. Trained to be coldly ruthless in achieving a given objective. And if that were _all_ that he was about, she'd be terrified of him. But it wasn't, and there was one fact that remained crystal clear in all of this, at least to Rinoa.

He was doing this for _her_.

She approached him quietly and slid her arms around his waist, pressing herself into his bare back.

"I think you're exactly what Timber needs. And I _know_ that you're exactly what _I_ need." Rinoa murmured softly, letting her warmth seep into him. Squall heaved a deep sigh and closed his eyes for a moment, covering her hands with his.

He turned then and caressed her cheek, saying softly, "I know that this bothers you, I saw it in your face as I was outlining my plans. To be honest, I don't much like it either. I wouldn't be human if it didn't trouble me. But we're starting out at a disadvantage, so we _can't_ be nice about it. You understand this, right?"

"Yes, I do. Now." Looking away briefly, she added softly, "You were right, when you called me out that first day, when everything went to hell. I _wasn't_ ready for the reality of what we'd have to do to free Timber. Not really. I wanted to believe that I was but…. Gods, I was so naïve… so easy to manipulate. And it nearly got you and your team killed."

Squall snorted softly, "I _did_ wonder what you intended to do once we'd captured President Deling. It seemed to me that all you wanted to do was give him a good talking to. It was a little hard to take you seriously, based on that. But, it wasn't my place to question the orders of my client, merely to execute them to the best of my ability."

Rinoa looked up at him then and smiled slightly, saying, "I'm glad you've managed to grow beyond that to think for yourself."

Squall raised his eyebrows at this and said, "I've since found that I do better when I'm allowed to devise my own means to achieve a goal, rather than follow someone else's half-baked plans."

Rinoa pouted slightly, "Well, if you ask _me_ , the plans _you've_ cobbled up are pretty half-baked."

"That's because we don't have all the ingredients yet. And I haven't actually gotten to the baking part." Squall replied in a lightly teasing tone.

Rinoa suddenly laughed at this and said, "you sound like you're baking a cake, not planning a revolution."

"It's not much different, if you think about it. Both take a careful measure of the right ingredients brought together to cook for a specific amount of time at a specific level of heat." Squall explained.

"Your baking analogy makes even less sense than the chess one did." Rinoa snorted, then smiled and tilted her head, adding, "Perhaps when you get done with this SeeD business, you'll want to look into baking as a career option."

"Perhaps," Squall smiled back. "Though I think I might just keep that as a hobby for the time being. And let this just be between you and me. I've got a reputation to maintain, you know."

"So, I guess you won't be changing your name to Chef Squall any time soon?" she asked him.

"No." he answered, then his gaze grew thoughtful and he asked, "What was that earlier about the bells? You said you'd explain it."

Rinoa nodded and answered, "The Bells of Timber were once a part of this city's identity. It's heart. The ruined church houses the carillon there, in that large tower, and they rang out for weddings and funerals, for celebrations and to sound alarms. When Galbadia took over, they were silenced. To ring them again…. It would restore this place like nothing else will. It would give everyone back their heart."

Squall's hands lightly stroked up Rinoa's arms to her shoulders and his gaze warmed as he studied her. "It would certainly be a good way to proclaim Timber's freedom."

"It would," Rinoa agreed; suddenly breathless at his intense regard, the warmth of his hands as they rested upon her shoulders. "It would mean the world to them. To me."

_I would give you the world and more, were it in my power,_ Squall thought. Aloud, he said, "What it means to you is the only thing that concerns me."

Tears sprang to Rinoa's eyes and she whispered, "I love you."

Squall reached up to her face and brushed a tear away with a feather-light touch. Then he bent down and kissed her. Gently, sweetly at first. Then her hands caressed his naked chest and her body warmed his as he pulled her close, awakening the passion that was always there for her.

His lips covered hers, and his tongue swept in to taste and tease, stoking the heat that rose between them. Stealing her breath, making her ache for more. She wrapped her arms around him, letting her hands roam up and down his back, and let herself be swept away again by what they were both feeling.

They finished undressing each other while kissing and caressing what was revealed, finally coming together on the small bed they now shared. Even though they were now more used to each other, more in tune with each other as they made love, it was different each time. There was always something new to discover. And there always would be.

And she was glad that she had made the decision to stay here with him, rather than with Selphie. There was no telling how things would end up between them or in the larger scale of things; how circumstances would fall for them on this mission they were involved with. It could cement their bond as nothing else could, or it could sever it completely.

But things were coming to a head far sooner than Rinoa thought was possible, and it both frightened and relieved her. For good or ill, for triumph or tragedy, it would be over within just a few days, if things went as they'd outlined them.

She needed this night with him, and every night after that until it was done. As many of them as were possible, and she knew he felt the same. She could feel his need in his kisses, his caresses. She didn't have to hear it in words or thin her shields to read his emotions, not this time.

There was no guarantee that even if they survived the coming fight, that they would be able to stay together. Even though Rinoa knew what he was not yet aware of: that their bond as sorceress to knight was not something easily put asunder. There was no way to know what the future held; Rinoa did not have the gift of foresight that Edea had once possessed. Her powers had manifested in a vastly different manner.

So she put aside those worries and concentrated upon the feel of Squall's hands caressing her skin, his lips trailing hot kisses down her neck and finally to her breasts. She lived in the here and now, and used the feel of his thick, silky hair running through her fingers, the warmth and solid weight of his body as he rested it atop hers, to anchor herself there. Rinoa focused on how he made her feel, focused on the slide of skin on skin, the heat and taste of his kisses, the passion that every movement betrayed.

And she gave herself up to him, to the bliss that came along with uniting herself with him, heart, body and soul. She wrapped her arms around him and held him to her as he allowed his passion free reign. It swept them both along, each thrust, each moaning gasp building upon itself, spiraling the tension to a near unbearable level. She allowed it to take her to a place that only lovers reach, whispering encouragement to Squall that he might join her there.

A final thrust, a long, shivering moan and the tension broke free in a flood of bliss, with Squall crushing her in a tight embrace as Rinoa trembled in its wake. They stayed like that for a long moment, wrapped up in each other, hearts still pounding, unwilling to separate yet.

Instead, Squall simply gazed down at Rinoa, the soft, serene expression in his eyes telling her far more than his words could. He reached up and stroked her cheek again, brushing an errant lock of hair away from her eyes. Then he kissed her again, so sweetly it made Rinoa's heart want to break, before finally shifting off of her and pulling her into his arms beneath their shared blankets.

Finally he whispered, "I love you too Rinoa." _And I always will._

Sleep slowly began to claim them both, and Rinoa snuggled into his arms and against his body, listening to his breaths, his heartbeat, soaking up his warmth. Knowing that he was doing the same with her and deriving as much comfort from her as she was from him.

She couldn't help feeling incredibly lucky and privileged to have been the one to discover the finer aspects of Squall's personality. To see the side of him that he revealed only to her. It made her love him all the more with each layer of himself that he showed her; and made her feel honored at each level of trust that he gave to her.

As sleep finally claimed her, she had a final thought, one so true that it should be engraved somewhere: Loving a SeeD is not for the weak of heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! Here's wishing you all a prosperous, creative and wonderful 2013! I am sorry it's taking me so long to update this story, it is truly one of my favorites. I haven't abandoned it, and I will do my hardest to finish it and the other two stories I currently have in progress (and henceforth, will employ more draconian means of controlling my rampant plot bunnies...). Keep an eye on my DeviantART site also, because one of my resolutions for this year is to challenge myself as an artist as well as a writer.
> 
> The next chapters will have a great deal more action in them. There will still be Squinoa moments of course, as that is the focus of this story, but now we'll start getting to the actual battles themselves here, very soon. Meanwhile, enjoy!


	22. Knight's Gambit

"Your move."

Squall studied the chessboard for a few moments, then moved a pawn. His opponent quickly captured it, just as he'd thought she would. He countered by taking her knight with his rook.

"Nice move boy. Knew you had a head on your shoulders," Gram said, frowning in concentration at the chessboard.

Squall snorted, "I should hope so. Hard to think without one." The old woman cackled in appreciation of his quip. Then she moved and captured one of Squall's rooks with her bishop.

While Squall was considering his next move, he said casually, "I'm about to poke a hornet's nest." He moved his bishop and took Gram's.

Gram pursed her lips, studying the board, then moved her rook to take one of Squall's pawns, putting his knight under threat. Squall frowned, studying the result. If he moved his knight away from immediate danger, it would leave his queen open for attack. Losing his queen would put his king in check. Squall decided to sacrifice the knight, instead moving his bishop into a position that would have her king checkmated on his next move.

"Don't get stung." Gram said, squinting down at the board. She took Squall's knight, as he figured she would.

"I don't plan to." He replied. He moved his bishop, putting her king into check. "Check."

"When do you figure on doing this?" She asked, attention on the scattered pieces.

"End of the week. In four days." Squall answered, wondering what her next move would be. She'd have to take his bishop to eliminate the threat to her king, which would allow him to put his queen into play to take her rook, giving him a clear shot at her king, putting it into check again.

"I see," She said, moving her queen to block his threat. Squall narrowed his eyes at that.

"When that day comes, stay inside. Lock your doors and windows. Don't come out until you hear the bells." Squall told her while pondering his next move.

"What if I don't hear them?" Gram asked him.

"Then forget you ever knew us." Squall said moving his knight to capture her rook, leaving his queen where it was for the moment.

The old woman fell silent, attention riveted to the board, faded blue eyes shrewdly reading the pattern of pieces. Then she made a totally unexpected move and took his queen. One more move and he'd be checkmated. Squall stared at the board, frowning fiercely. Losing his queen limited his options significantly.

"I know you're not junior's cousin. He's forgotten that I've met him. He's got brown eyes, and he's taller." Gram advised him.

Squall met her eyes calmly, stating, "You know what I am then."

"I'd heard rumors. Even resistance members talk when the only one to hear is an old, presumably deaf woman." Gram replied.

"Then do what I've said and stay safe." Squall told her, moving his king out of harm's way. Gram moved her queen.

"Check." She told him. Squall studied the board and found himself backed into a corner. He didn't have any pieces close enough to remove the threat to his king, he had to resolve his situation on this move and didn't see how he could beyond moving his king again, which would put him within the reach of Gram's threatening bishop. And thwarting the threat presented by Gram's queen would have to be his main priority anyway…. but he had no pieces within reach to do the job. He was stuck.

"And mate," he conceded, tipping his king over.

"I've got a shotgun," Gram informed him as they reset the board. The pieces were put back into their ordered ranks, and Squall stood, intending to leave.

"Good." He said, adding, "Keep it loaded and with you, but stay inside and out of sight, even so." The old woman studied him a long moment, then nodded.

"All right." She agreed, following him to the door. She gripped his arm as he reached for the doorknob to open it.

"You mind yourself boy. If you're as bad a fighter as you are a chess player, we're all in trouble." She admonished him.

Squall couldn't help it; a small chuckle escaped before he could stop it. "I guess I need a bit more practice."

Gram patted his arm then and replied, "I'm here whenever you want another lesson."

Squall nodded once, expression turning serious again, saying, "I'll keep that in mind."

He opened the door and stepped out, pausing when the old lady called after him, "And _smile_ more boy! Girls love boys with a cute smile like yours!"

He covered his face for a moment with his hand, sighing as he felt his cheeks growing warm. Then he continued down the walk to the garden gate, passing through it and turning toward Watts' house. The old woman's good-humored cackle followed him.

* * *

"Took you long enough to get back, what were you doing all this time?" Watts asked curiously when Squall entered the kitchen.

"After I'd finished helping Gram with clearing another plot to expand her garden, we played chess." Squall answered, grabbing a glass from the cupboard and filling it with water.

Watts gave him a startled glance, then grinned, "who won?"

"She did." Squall answered with a snort, taking a long sip of the water.

Watts started laughing at this, saying, "You know, this doesn't inspire confidence in your strategy."

"Maybe we should have your Gram plan it out then," Squall retorted. Watts sobered at this and shook his head.

"No. We can't involve her." He said firmly.

"I know that. I _did_ warn her however." Squall replied. Watts stared at him, shocked. He wouldn't have…

"You didn't…." Watts began, and Squall interrupted him, "I only told her to stay indoors. Keep the doors and windows locked and keep her shotgun close. Nothing else."

Watts closed his eyes on a long, relieved sigh. "Thank you."

"She knows I'm not your cousin though. She tells me you've forgotten she'd met him." Squall informed him.

Watts chuckled at that. "I forget how sharp she is sometimes. Eighty-nine and still got a mind like a steel trap. It's no surprise she beat you at chess, she must have been grand master in her day."

"Well, she's certainly had enough time to practice," Squall said. Glancing over at Watts, he added, "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," Watts said.

Looking toward the staircase, Squall called out, "Rin?"

"Coming!" she said, hurrying down the stairs, followed closely by Angelo. Hitching her backpack higher onto her back, she came up to Squall and leaned in close, gripping his arm for balance, and rose onto her tiptoes to plant a soft kiss onto his cheek.

"Let's go!" She said, heading for the door. Squall followed her, with Watts bringing up the rear.

The main focus for this day's activity would be to assist Zone, Zell and Selphie with moving the weapons cache to its new location, as quickly and discreetly as possible. So pressed were they for time, they had no other choice but to do this during the day; the rescheduled meeting would take place that night at midnight.

That alone made this task one fraught with peril. Even as remote as the caverns were, as circuitous the route back to the backup location would have to be, the chances of discovery were double what they might have been under cover of darkness. Adding the fact that they were packing the arms and ordinance upon chocobos in order to accomplish the move as quickly as possible, and the odds stacked even higher that they'd be seen.

Quick and quiet chocobos may be, but their sheer size and bright coloring made them very hard to miss.

"We see anyone that doesn't look like one of ours at any point while we're doing this, kill them. Leave _no one_ to tell any tales." Squall said grimly, while hoping that they only encountered _soldiers_ , if they encountered anyone at all. He didn't want to be forced to kill a civilian who had the bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Rinoa swallowed and exchanged a look with Watts, who nodded slightly. Then they both acknowledged Squall's order: "Understood." "Gotcha"

Fortunately, they accomplished the move without any encounters in spite of the meandering route that they took that made the trip take longer. Indeed, with the aid of the chocobos, it was accomplished in one trip, which was lucky.

The eventual location of the cache was one that Squall wouldn't have guessed, which he supposed was its point. The ruined cathedral had been an abandoned, lonely structure for nearly two decades. It had been out of sight and out of the minds of nearly everyone for at least that long.

They followed Zone around the church to the grounds behind the living quarters that the priest had used. From there, he led everyone to what appeared to be a root cellar.

"Down here," Zone said, opening the doors and turning on a flashlight he had brought with him.

The dirt-floored cellar was long empty; the shelves and chests where the priest had once stored foodstuffs and other items stripped of anything that might have been of use. Sturdy wooden beams supported the ceiling and wood planks paneled the walls. The shelving and storage boxes were also of wood, and showed the same sturdy, well-made construction.

Zone was advancing slowly into the cellar, shining his flashlight all around as though he were looking for something, saying, "I helped my father build this, when I was six. By helping I mean that I mostly was fetching tools for him and bringing him lunch, things like that. It was his first job for the priest, and he did it in exchange for the help the priest gave us after my mother died. Galbadia had already taken over and the priest was firmly in support of the resistance, so at his direction my father added…" Zone paused, then moved an empty wooden box out of the way and examined a section of the wall closely before finding what he was looking for with a quiet, "ah." He pressed a hidden catch and the wall rolled back, revealing a dark space that resolved itself into an additional room when Zone shined his flashlight into it.

"He added this room. It was originally intended as a bolthole, for resistance members to hide in if the soldiers came looking for them in the sanctuary itself. There's a secondary escape route there," Zone trained the beam from his flashlight onto another panel, this one obviously a closed doorway. "It comes out into a crypt in the cemetery."

Squall studied the cellar with interest, impressed with its construction and the planning that went along with it.

"This must have taken months to build." He observed.

"Digging everything out took awhile. I'm not sure how long. Nobody caught on because the priest simply incorporated the dirt into his garden. My father built the frames for the raised beds the priest used the dirt for as well as all of this." Zone replied.

Squall nodded in satisfaction. "It'll do."

"I rather thought it would," Zone said.

Squall turned and left the hidden room, and Zone heard his muffled voice calling out "all right, let's unpack and get everything stowed! Move it!"

He exited the cellar to join everyone else and help with offloading and stashing their weapons.

* * *

"So… everyone's going to be there tonight?" Rowan asked, hoping she didn't sound too obvious. There was a sense of tension in the air lately that had her looking over her shoulder, expecting a knife between her shoulder blades, or the whistling shriek of the mercenary's fearsome gunblade cleaving through her neck.

Her contact had told her about some sketchy reports of his actions, and it had terrified her. An _entire squad_ had gone up against him during the hunting trip he'd led…. and not one of the men had returned. He'd taken so long himself in returning however that Rowan had been hopeful that he'd died as well. It had taken everything she'd had in her not to give in to the panic that seemed to constantly be eating away at the edges of her consciousness when Zone had related to her the story of his journey back.

Zone was another concern she harbored. He'd been very busy lately, too busy to visit her as often as he once had. And when he finally _did_ visit he was…different.

She thought she'd put her finger on what it was however. He'd confessed that he'd been healed by the SeeDs medicine, and his health had improved markedly. He'd gained weight, and seemed stronger. That strength had given him new resolve to continue, a fact that worried Rowan on several levels. If, in Zone, the resistance finally had a leader with _real_ strength, that would mean all kinds of trouble for the Galbadians and for Rowan's own goals.

Then he'd told her of the meeting they'd planned, telling her that everyone was going to be there; and it all fell into place for her. They were planning something big, something that they needed everyone's input to accomplish. It was what she'd been waiting for and she nearly wept tears of joy that she could finally get what she had sacrificed so much for. Almost.

She still hadn't been fully reassured that Rob still lived, and her contacts had been unable to provide her definitive proof of it, citing Galbadia's current instability. She'd been told that they hadn't been able to obtain what she'd asked for from the D-district prison, that the contacts there had not responded to any of their inquiries.

It had left her feeling unsettled and uncertain, pressured for results yet unwilling to fully commit until she was _sure_. Then she'd been told in no uncertain terms that she would get _nothing_ until she delivered her end of the bargain. Period.

And thus she was provided with full disclosure of the pitfalls involved in making a deal with the Devil; he always changed the terms, and they were never in your favor.

So, now she was following Zone to the caves, alternating between feeling like a lamb being led to slaughter, and being the Judas goat doing the leading.

"Yes, all the groups are coming." Zone answered her.

"So, what's this meeting all about? Sounds important." Rowan asked, hoping it sounded like idle curiosity only.

Zone glanced at her briefly and answered, "Squall's gotten hold of some information that he decided everyone needed to know. He related it to me the other day, and its definitely important. It could significantly impact our future plans."

"What is it?" Rowan pressed curiously.

"Wait until we get there. I don't want to have to tell it twice." Zone answered her firmly.

Rowan sighed. This new assurance that he'd developed had provided another level of concern for her. It was as though, in being healed of his ulcer, he'd become another person. That his physical weakness had been hidden for so long that everyone, even her, had taken it for a weakness in character. A lack of courage.

It was anything but, and Rowan belatedly remembered that before he'd been stricken by the illness that only she and his closest friends had ever been aware of, he'd led the Forest Owls at the tender age of fourteen. That he'd been the unfortunate witness of his father's execution for treason. That he, along with his brother in arms, Watts, had kept the resistance going even when other groups had begun to give up.

She'd forgotten one of the first things that Zone had told her, when she'd asked him about it. He'd spat out in bitter anger: _"Vengeance. Not just against that bastard Deling for murdering my father, but against the entire fucking army. I want these assholes to PAY, and pay dearly, for what they've done, not just to my family but also to Timber as a whole. Kill them ALL if they won't fucking leave!"_

It was the most passionate, fiery thing that she'd ever heard him utter, and it had excited her. It wasn't hard for her to get into what she was doing after that, though she'd felt horribly guilty afterward at betraying her husband, even if it was ultimately for his sake.

Watching Zone now however as she followed him into the caverns, Rowan felt even more strongly that the situation was spinning far outside of her control. She wondered if she'd _ever_ had control of it, or if she'd simply deluded herself that she did. His entire manner now was frighteningly similar to the SeeD that Rinoa had turned up with.

She shook herself out of her morbid thoughts, putting it down to the fact that after tonight, everything would change. Everyone that she knew and cared about was going to be sacrificed. She wasn't so cold that she wouldn't be affected by the fact that if everything came off as planned, Zone and everyone else there, was going to die. The Colonel didn't want to take any chances of anyone escaping, so he'd sent what amounted to half of the garrison. It was going to be a massacre.

"Zone," She said softly as they entered the tunnel leading to the main gathering place. He stopped and turned to face her, his features shadowed by the darkness in the cavern. Only his outline was discernable due to the flashlight he was carrying.

"What?" he asked her.

She reached out tentatively and slid her arms around him, pulling him close. She didn't hate him, what she was doing had nothing to do with that. In fact, if she didn't love her Robbie more, she'd have been happy with Zone as her lover and friend. So yes, she did regret the fact that tonight, she'd signed his death warrant.

"It's all going to change tonight. I can feel it. There's no going back from here," she murmured softly into his chest.

"No. There isn't." he replied in a neutral tone. He started in surprise when Rowan slid her hand behind his head and kissed him deeply, passionately. Desperately.

Rowan fought tears as Zone caressed her hair softly before they separated and he led her the rest of the way into the caves to the main meeting room.

_I'm sorry,_ she thought as she followed behind him into the darkness.

She emerged into the main cavern that they'd held all of their secret meetings in, including the one that had re-introduced the SeeD commander and his comrades to the resistance. The hope that had shone in the eyes of everyone there was not to be seen in Rowan's eyes. Indeed, the only thing she felt in that moment was fear. It had not left her since.

She gazed around the dimly lit space and frowned. There weren't nearly as many people there as there were the last time. She wondered if they were early and more were coming. She worried about that, for the Colonel had wanted _everyone_ involved in Timber's resistance movement present…. so that he could kill them all.

She turned around and caught Zone staring at her, his expression strangely blank. She didn't have time to ponder that development; the whispering swish of a blade cleaving air sent chills down her spine before she felt something touch the side of her neck as lightly as a feather…with the bite of a razor.

"Don't move, unless you want to die." Rowan swallowed convulsively, recognizing the flat, emotionless voice. She froze, feeling the sting where the razor sharp gunblade had just barely cut into the surface of her skin, feeling the trickle of blood it had released. She closed her eyes and forced herself to take a deep breath, willing herself not to tremble. She believed the SeeD's explicit threat. The gunblade was resting just millimeters from her carotid artery. One false move and she'd be dead in seconds.

"Zone," She whispered, eyes beseeching him. _Please, call off your lion…._ She could never dare say it, and even though "dog" might be more appropriate for such a statement, there was nothing _at all_ doglike about Squall Leonhart.

"How many soldiers are coming Rowan?" Zone asked her in the same flat, emotionless tone as the SeeD.

Tears started in her eyes at that direct question. They knew. _They knew!_

Ice froze her soul as she realized that she wasn't the Judas goat leading Zone to destruction…. _She_ was the lamb being led to slaughter. And her executioner was standing right behind her with his blade against her neck.

"I'd suggest you answer the question." Squall's level voice cut quietly through the tense silence.

"I…. I don't know," she whispered in a trembling voice.

"You're lying." Squall stated. Zone simply stared at her, arms folded tightly across his chest, his expression still stony.

She wanted to turn and look at the mercenary that stood behind her, and she almost did but the blade against her neck froze her before she made that fatal mistake. It was so sharp that the mercenary holding it could kill her with no effort at all. All she had to do was to move wrong; the gunblade's edge would slice through the thin layers of skin and tissue separating it from her lifeblood, releasing it in a ruby flood.

But she didn't want to die, even though at this moment, she began to feel the beginnings of despair. She'd gambled and lost…everything. But she didn't release her tears. Not yet.

"How many Rowan?" Zone asked her again.

"A lot," She answered softly, squeezing her eyes shut and causing a single tear to escape. "About four hundred, I think. I was told that the Colonel wanted to make absolutely certain that nobody made it out alive."

"Including you." Squall observed, his soft voice coldly malevolent.

Rowan swallowed. She hadn't even thought of that. They had no intention of ever releasing her husband. He might even be dead now. That thought threatened to crush her very soul.

"When?" Zone asked her.

"They'll need time to get into position, and they wanted to make sure everyone was here. An hour, I guess." She answered in a small voice.

"Is everyone ready?" Zone directed the question to Squall.

"Yes. Selphie and Lobo managed to rig a short-range remote for the bombs. No need for some suicidal fool to stay behind to set them off." Squall answered.

"Good." Zone responded.

"Think we've got enough people here to lure them in?" Watts asked.

"Yeah. We're not actually trying to fight them off, so what we've got here should do it." Zone answered him.

This confused Rowan for a moment before the realization hit her that they'd been aware of her activities for a while now. They had used her to set up an ambush. The soldiers were being lured into a trap. But that meant that she'd played the part she was supposed to and they didn't need her anymore. _Neither_ side did.

"What about her?" Squall asked. Rowan felt another chill chase down her spine at the coolly detached question.

Zone frowned at him for a moment before turning his attention to Rowan, asking her, "Why? Why would you betray your friends? Your family?"

The tears Rowan had been mostly holding at bay flooded her eyes and leaked down her cheeks as she answered, "Rob. They have Rob. They promised me they'd let him go if I did what they wanted."

"I thought your husband was dead." Zone stated flatly.

"I never said he was dead. I said he'd been taken from me. I let you believe he was dead and didn't bother to correct your assumption. That's all." Rowan told him, and then added in a whisper, "they'll never let him go now. He'll die in D-district…"

"He may already have." The mercenary behind her said.

Fresh tears coursed down her cheeks at this and she wanted to shake her head in denial, though she had a sinking feeling that he was probably right. Still…

"They showed me proof he was alive. I have to believe he still is." She said desperately.

"How long ago?" Zone asked her.

Rowan returned her gaze to his and answered, "Before _he_ came back with Rinoa." She indicated Squall with a twitch of her hand.

Zone frowned at this. That would have been around the time that Squall and his team had been captured and subsequently escaped from prison.

Turning his attention to Squall, he asked, "Did anyone escape or attempt to escape with you guys when you got out of the D-district prison?"

"A few tried. They were killed. We managed to get our weapons back and we had our Guardians, so were able to fight our way free. They didn't." Squall answered.

A tense silence fell as Zone and Rowan simply stared at each other. Squall waited patiently, ears cocked toward the passageway that led toward the main entrance to the caverns. Everyone was in position now; they'd all filed out to take their places when Rowan had confirmed that the soldiers were coming and when.

"So, what do we do now Rowan?" Zone was asking her quietly. Squall frowned, wondering if Zone's assurance that he'd kill her if he had to was still valid.

"I don't know," She answered in a small voice. "Please…I'm sorry….I…I didn't have any choice…"

Finally Squall spoke up, "We need to get into our positions Zone. They'll be coming soon. We need to deal with her _now_."

Zone met his eyes, and swallowed, knowing exactly what Squall meant. All he had to do is give the word and the mercenary would remove this pawn from the board. Permanently.

"No. Not yet. I still have some questions for her." Zone said.

Rowan heard the SeeD behind her make a sound of exasperated displeasure before he said, "We don't have time for this."

"I know." Zone acknowledged.

"So what do you plan do to with her? We can't spare someone to guard her, and we can't just let her go." Squall asked pointedly, then he added darkly, "And I for one don't want to have a known enemy at my back in the middle of a firefight."

"I'll take charge of her then." Zone said. He approached her and it was all she could do not to flinch as he studied her closely. Only the blade at her neck held her still as he put his hands on her, checking her thoroughly for any concealed weapons. When he'd finished, Rowan's cheeks were burning from humiliation. Not because of the fact that he'd placed his hands all over her body… he'd done that many times before and with far less obstructing clothing between her skin and his.

It was because of the _way_ he did it. Brisk, businesslike and impersonal, he could have been feeling up a mannequin for all of the interest he'd displayed in his touch and in his expression. Rowan suddenly felt as though the gunblade at her neck had been plunged into her heart instead.

"She's clean. No weapons." Zone reported.

"Fine then. She's your responsibility." Squall said, then he addressed Rowan, saying, " _One_ sound, _one_ false move from you, and if _he_ doesn't kill you, _I will_."

Rowan heaved a deep sigh of relief as the blade was whipped away from her neck. She finally looked back over her shoulder; hand clasped against the stinging cut the gunblade had left behind. All that she could see of the SeeD in the dimly lit cavern however was his shadowy outline with the huge gunblade resting upon his shoulder. It glowed with a cold, eerie blue light, illuminating his facial features and in particular reflecting off of his ice blue eyes, while throwing the rest of his body back into the shadows. Rowan shivered and turned away, moving closer to Zone, and not at all certain that the SeeD wouldn't decide to kill her anyway.

A shout and the sound of gunfire from the cave entrance made her jump and spurred Zone into action. He grabbed her hand and dragged her along behind him as he hurried toward his assigned position. Rowan glanced wildly around as fading footsteps told the story of the mercenary's disappearance.

They rounded a bend in the passageway that Zone had been running along and he dragged her into an alcove, pushing her back against the stony wall and out of his way. She did her best to regulate her breathing but it was hard to do as she watched him pick up an assault rifle that had been hidden there and proceed to load it, taking off the safety and cocking it with practiced speed. He slung the strap over his shoulder and let the weapon hang from it for a moment as he bent down to pick up and proceed to fill his pockets with as many clips of ammunition as he could. Finally, he reached under his shirt and pulled an old revolver from the waistband of his jeans.

He scooped up a handful of bullets and loaded it, stashing another handful into yet another pocket, and tucked it back under his waistband again. Then he raised his rifle and peered tensely back the way they'd come.

"He was really going to kill me, wasn't he?" Rowan whispered.

"SeeDs don't take prisoners. That's their credo." Zone answered in a low voice, glancing back at her and adding grimly, "Be quiet and stay where I can see you. If you move _I'll_ kill you." He crouched down and motioned for her to do the same, waiting.

Rowan swallowed miserably and did as he'd directed her to do. The mercenary, Squall, might think she was a threat to be eliminated, but at the moment at least, Rowan had no intention of even attempting to run. She was still too emotionally crushed at all that she'd lost to gather up the nerve to try anything.

The plan was to simply fire off a few shots and retreat toward the nearest exit. Obviously the goal was to actually _hit_ someone while doing this; Squall had been adamant about making every shot count. It didn't matter that they didn't actually intend to fully engage the enemy. It had to be convincing enough for them to commit to the fight. Nothing was more convincing than seeing your comrades catch bullets right and left.

Zone refused to think about the fact that they were facing as many as _four hundred_ soldiers. It might be impossible to get to an exit unscathed if the fight got _too_ hot. That was one of the main reasons that Rinoa had been left out of this fight, much to her displeasure. In this, he and Squall had both been in complete agreement. Neither wanted to put her life at risk, and for the same reason. They _both_ loved her, and Zone knew now that Squall was aware of his feelings. Neither young man spoke of it.

Oddly, it was _Squall_ that had convinced her to remain behind; not in the way one would expect a man to convince the woman he loved to do what he wanted, but with firm, no-nonsense logic. He'd flatly, firmly told her that he needed her to conserve her energy and stay out of harm's way because of her facility with healing magic. He was keeping her in reserve to heal any injuries that could and likely _would_ result from this action. She hadn't been happy, but she'd capitulated based on that reasoning.

More shots sounded, and Zone could hear shouts and screams of pain, and he tightened his hands upon the rifle he was holding. He'd never admit it to Squall, but he was terrified. This was the first straight up battle he'd ever been in; he'd always been one to avoid odds like these. Not Squall. Zone could picture him charging into the thick of battle, heedless of his own safety, gunblade singing.

Zone still couldn't decide if that meant that the SeeD was _that_ brave or _that_ crazy…or _that_ good at what he did.

* * *

Squall raced toward the entrance where Zell and Selphie waited for him, dismissing Zone and Rowan from his mind. She was _his_ problem to deal with now. He had other, more important things that he needed to concentrate on. As he ran, his mind sifted through his inventory of battle-ready spells, preparing his strategy.

"'Bout time you got here," Zell said as Squall arrived and took his position between him and Selphie.

"Had a situation." Squall answered shortly.

Zell nodded, "Rowan?" Squall nodded back in confirmation.

"Is she...?" Selphie asked, biting her lip.

"No. Zone's handling it. We'll just have to trust that he'll follow through when he needs to." Squall answered, then he ordered, "Zell, summon Cerberus. Selphie, as soon as he does, cast protect on all of us. I'll cast Aura."

They both nodded and Zell summoned the guardian, casting the spell that would boost their ability to use magic. Rinoa would have been very handy to have with them; her facility with magic had increased exponentially with each battle she participated in. She was now a _very_ strong sorceress indeed.

But he didn't want to risk her. Not just for the fact that this really wasn't even a serious battle, there was no need to risk the queen _now_ when she could be employed more effectively as part of the endgame. It was always wiser to keep the strongest weapon in reserve for when it was needed the most. And it wasn't just for the fact that he hadn't been lying when he'd told her that she'd contribute more to the team by staying safe and employing her magic to heal rather than to harm. It was because he simply didn't want her hurt, plain and simple. This particular skirmish, by the nature of its planning and the odds they were facing, was far too dangerous for Squall to even _consider_ involving her.

Shouts and gunshots cracking the air in the confined tunnels of the cave system told all three SeeDs that the attack was heating up just as the last of their preparatory spells were cast. The resistance members stationed closest to the entrance fought and retreated, drawing the soldiers in, then turning and fleeing up the corridor when they reached the SeeDs.

Running footsteps echoed in the darkness. Bobbing lights appeared around a bend in the corridor, the sound of dozens of running, booted feet growing louder. Squall, Zell and Selphie stood ready, waiting for them. Yes, they were going to flee like everyone else; nobody wanted to die today.

But before they did, they were going to take out as many of the attacking soldiers as they could.

"Here they come. You guys ready?" Squall asked, setting his feet firmly upon the ground and bringing his gunblade up to guard.

"You bet!" Zell assured him, bringing his fists up and dancing in anticipation.

"Ready!" Selphie acknowledged, twirling her nunchakus.

"Let's go." At Squall's order, they all charged as one.

The soldiers never knew what hit them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Sorry for the LONG delay between updates, I've had my energies split in several directions for awhile now...multiple art projects as well as multiple in progress stories (though i'm only actively working on two of them at the moment...sorry Queen fans, I'll pick that back up when I finish one of these other stories...). This on top of mundane daily stuff like work and other things relating to REAL LIFE.
> 
> But things are getting more exciting here, and this is just the beginning. This is just the start of one small battle. The actual WAR has yet to begin. Stay tuned folks...


	23. Waking the Dragon

When Squall fought, it was as though a switch was flipped in his head, shutting off all emotion. His focus narrowed to the weight of his blade and the way it arced through the air when he swung it, the resistance it encountered when he sliced through an opponent's neck or slashed his body. The cool glow of Lion Heart left trails of azure fire as it whistled through the air, one by one putting out the lights that the Galbadians had mounted to their helmets. He cleaved through the attacking soldiers like an unstoppable force of nature; scarcely registering the increasing fear in their faces when the protection spells that Selphie had cast upon them all simply turned aside the bullets they fired, while Squall's own deadly skills were more than enough to overwhelm the gunbladers among them.

And he didn't stop. Once he got into that state, he simply fought until his energy or the numbers of his opponents were exhausted. Either worked for him. It was not a berserk state however; it was far more lethal than that. It was a coldly calculated drive to eliminate everything in his path. Everything wearing Galbadian blue, that is.

In the back of his mind, as he parried, slashed and cut his way through the throngs of soldiers attacking them, a reptilian presence uncoiled, its bloodlust roused by Squall's fighting. He could feel it, gazing out at the battle through his eyes, its eagerness growing with each slice of his gunblade.

Squall drew heavily upon Bahamut's strength while fighting, and the great dragon in return drank in its residual effects. The emotions that Squall had momentarily divorced himself from while in the heat of battle still existed, and they bled into the symbiotic link that he had with his Guardian like a draught of strong wine. It excited the entity that resided in his mind, and in return the creature's lust for blood and hunger for carnage added power and speed to Squall's attacks. It was a large part of what made Squall so dangerous in battle. The fact that he was SeeD was the other part. He held firm to the credo that SeeDs asked no quarter and gave none. There would be no mercy from him for _anyone_ that faced his blade. They fought him, and they died. Simple as that.

To Selphie and Zell, watching him fight, it _did_ appear almost as though he was possessed by a berserk spell, that he was simply mindlessly killing whatever was in front of him. It was almost to the point that Zell began to fear that it had in fact happened and started to think about possibly casting an Esuna spell, just to be safe. They wanted to draw the soldiers _in_ to their trap, not drive them off; and Squall's absolute ferocity was beginning to scare even _him_. Never mind the hapless soldiers, who were now beginning to back off and creating a bottleneck in the corridor with the ones behind them that were trying to advance.

Before he could however, Squall backed off the attack and ordered, "Withdraw. Slowly. Make them fight for every step forward."

"They look more like they want to run away instead," Zell commented. It was true. The attacks that they were all defending against had no conviction. No confidence. They were weak and ineffectual enough in fact that Squall could discus his strategy with Selphie and Zell even while they were fighting. Usually, having their attention divided in such a way was unwise, not to mention dangerous.

"Well, I guess that means I have to let one of them cut me. If they see blood, they'll attack like sharks." Squall said, turning aside a gunblade attack easily.

"But…" Selphie began to protest. She'd promised Rinoa that she would make sure Squall returned to her unhurt. She didn't want to break that promise.

Squall glanced over at her and said, "Cast Regen on me."

Selphie nodded and did as he'd ordered. The Aura spell had already worn off, and the protect spell was just about exhausted as well, so Squall flung himself into the thick of battle, fully intending to allow one of his opponents to score a strike on him. Selphie and Zell concentrated on backing him up and making sure nobody flanked him.

It wasn't hard; the corridor they were fighting in was narrow enough that only three people could attack at a time. That narrow bottleneck was a liability for the attackers. The advantage of numbers was negated in a situation like that, with the result that three skilled fighters like Zell, Selphie and Squall could hold off an entire army by themselves. For a little while at least. Eventually, fatigue, injuries, and lack of ammunition or combat spells would take their toll and they'd be overwhelmed.

Squall deliberately allowing one of the gunbladers he was fighting to injure him was a risky move, but one that would, he hoped, would give the soldiers the expectation that they could defeat Squall and the other SeeDs. That in turn would make it easier for Squall to lure them to their doom.

So he attacked with his customary ferocity, by no means intending to make this an easy score for any of his opponents; and singled out one that seemed to handle his weapon more competently than the others. The other two men who faced him were easily killed by a lightning fast slash across the neck of one of them, while the other man was disemboweled. One of two things usually happened to someone who'd just seen his comrades killed like that in such quick succession: they panicked and fled, or they grew angry and determined to avenge their friends.

The soldier Squall faced now did the latter, attacking with renewed vigor. The fear lurking in the back of his eyes now replaced by anger, giving his blows more strength. Good. Squall was enjoying the challenge. In fact, if he wasn't careful the man stood a good chance of injuring him far more severely than he intended.

So Squall blocked and parried, pushing the man back with powerful blows, then when his opponent countered, he parried that attack but only partly. He blocked what could have been a fatal blow and let the gunblade slip down the length of Lion Heart, but instead of avoiding the blade altogether, he left his arm open, allowing the soldier's gunblade to slash open his forearm. It was a superficial cut, which while painful, was not terribly disabling. But it _did_ slow him down, and more than that, it bled profusely.

"Pull back! Selphie, Zell, make 'em pay for every meter in blood!" Squall ordered, starting to back up.

As intended, the soldiers, seeing him injured and starting to withdraw, pressed their attack forcing them back. But they didn't turn and run. They backed up the corridor in controlled retreat, fighting every step of the way and leaving a trail of bodies to mark the path of the battle. It wasn't time yet for them to actually cut and run. Not yet.

"Selphie! Do you see the marker yet?" Squall asked her, sweat starting to sting his eyes as he blocked and parried blow after blow. The regen spell was working on healing his injured arm, restoring its strength, though it still stung and bled. But the bleeding had slowed and the pain was fading by the moment. But simple fatigue was starting to become a factor and strong as he was, especially with Bahamut as his backup, he _wasn't_ invincible.

"Not yet!" Selphie answered breathlessly, the lightning fast whistle of her nunchakus taking out yet another attacker with a sickening crack against the man's temple. She spun, ducked and danced like a dervish, a lithe demon with sparkling green eyes and a sweet, disarming smile. Using her weapons expertly, she blocked a gunblade attack and then flipped it out of the attacker's hand. Then before the man could even blink, she had both nunchakus about the man's neck like a nutcracker, and using the leverage provided by her momentum and the man's own weight, snapped his neck.

As he fell, Selphie saw the marker she was looking for and called out, "Here!"

"Good!" Squall said, then, while readying a firaga spell, ordered, "Full retreat! Let's get out of here!" He cast the firaga spell to cover their escape, killing the two soldiers closest to him in that moment, blinding or disabling the rest.

Then they turned into the intersecting tunnel that Selphie had marked earlier that led to one of the emergency exits and ran.

* * *

Zone meanwhile, was making his way to that same exit from a different tunnel, pulling Rowan along with him. He understood now the reason why Squall and the other SeeDs didn't take prisoners; it was virtually impossible to watch her _and_ concentrate on not getting killed while the bullets pinged and whizzed thickly around them both. If _she_ didn't try to kill him, one of the bullets flying around them both would, if he didn't pay closer attention to the firefight.

Shoving Rowan into the wall as another volley of bullets was loosed at them, Zone flattened himself against her and fired off several rounds from the assault rifle he was using, hoping that at least _some_ of them took out an enemy. It was impossible to aim in the dark corridor, and Zone wasn't fortunate enough to posses the battle gear that the Galbadians did. As weird as their helmets looked, the way they partially obscured the soldier's faces, they _did_ actually serve a necessary function. Each helmet that _this_ group was wearing included built-in night vision and infrared sensors.

The only thing Zone could do against that was to listen for their advance, and when they fired at him, do his best to avoid the bullets and send a returning burst of fire to keep their heads down. And then _run_.

He led them on a twisting, circuitous course, hoping to disorient them and get them lost, then slip back the way he'd come to the tunnel that led to one of the emergency exits. Hoping that strategy would have the soldiers fruitlessly wandering the caves looking for him while he made his escape.

Some of the tunnels, the more traveled ones, _were_ lit, and the one they needed to make their escape was one of them. Zone pulled Rowan with him into that corridor and ran with her, trying to ignore the sweat stinging his eyes, the burning pain and liquid warmth in his side from a bullet that had found him.

"Zone!" Rowan called after him urgently, stumbling a bit on the uneven surface of the tunnel as Zone's grip on her hand and his forward momentum combined to pull her off balance.

"Zone, wait!" she tried again.

"I don't have time for this Ro!" he panted as they raced with what speed they could muster. He didn't hear or see the soldiers behind them but that didn't mean anything. Eventually, they'd find the right corridor and be on his heels again. They had to get out so Selphie could trigger the bombs.

"You have to know! They'll be watching all the exits! All of them! You'll be killed the minute you step outside!" she told him. He stopped so fast she slammed into him and they both nearly fell.

"Fuck!" Zone swore bitterly. He was supposed to meet up with Squall, Zell and Selphie at the exit that he was currently heading toward. Watts too, hopefully, though Zone was starting to worry a little bit about him. He hadn't run across him yet and should have by now.

"I'm sorry, I…" Rowan began, but Zone cut her off bitterly, "Save it. You want to apologize? Tell it to my corpse."

"What do we do? If we stay here we'll be killed…" Rowan asked, biting her lip.

"We're fucked either way. Might as well die in the forest instead of a hole in the ground. Who knows, maybe Squall's got something up his sleeve that'll help deal with this. _I_ sure as shit don't." Zone spat angrily, at the end of his resources and not caring who knew about it. Then he resumed his plunge up the corridor, pulling Rowan along once again.

The corridor was dimly lit but at least _had_ light, provided through a cunningly contrived system of hidden outdoor solar panels, batteries and low wattage bulbs. It provided enough light for Rowan to see the dark stain on Zone's side, to see his hand pressing against the injury as he pushed forward. She swallowed, tears threatening again. What had she done?

The tunnel darkened as they approached the exit, the lights stopping several meters shy of it so as to not reveal its existence in the dark. A dark form crouched next to it, peering tensely out toward the forest. As they grew closer the form was revealed to be Watts.

He glanced back as they approached, observing quietly, "They're out there, waiting for us."

"I know. She told me all the exits are covered. We're surrounded." Zone said. Watts transferred his attention to Rowan.

"I'm kind of surprised Squall didn't kill her outright." He said.

"We still need her. She has information we can use." Zone replied.

"Can you trust her?" Watts asked.

Zone studied her silently for a moment, expression impossible to read in the darkness, and finally answered, "I don't know."

"They cut down three of our guys coming out. Mick, Arin and Joss. Pretty sure the same thing happened at the other exits. We might not make it out of this after all unless Squall actually _does_ have something big in reserve like I've heard he might." Watts reported.

Zone sighed, pain and fatigue catching up to him, vaguely angry at his current predicament. Injured and bleeding, trapped and virtually hopeless, he leaned against the wall for support. The throbbing wound in his side bled sluggishly, which he supposed was a good sign. Perhaps it had missed his vitals and only grazed him. He couldn't tell, and it hurt too Goddamn much for him to go poking around in the dark to see if there was an exit wound. A thought struck him then, that this was the first time he'd ever been shot.

He thought for sure he'd freak out and panic, but he'd been so busy returning fire and trying to get his ass out of there, he'd barely been able to register the impact of the bullet. Oh, the pain of course had gotten his attention, but it hadn't knocked him down or anything like that, which led him to believe that he _had_ in fact only been grazed.

He hoped so anyway.

"I guess we'll find out when he gets here." He finally said.

"He'd better hurry. I know we've led these guys on a merry chase but I don't want to trust that they'll get _completely_ lost in those tunnels. Eventually they'll be at our backs." Watts said grimly. Zone nodded agreement.

They waited, tense, as more of their comrades, though far fewer than they'd started with, made their way to the exit near where they crouched. Some had seen their fellow Owls killed just as they'd gotten outside like Watts had, others had heard of it second hand and tried one and another of the exits, only to learn that they too were being covered.

Sounds of fighting echoed in the tunnels, impossible to tell from which direction. Gunshots, shouts, screams…. they seemed to be growing louder, and everyone gathered by the exit craned their necks to gaze back the way they'd come, worried that their situation had just worsened. A sudden flash of golden firelight could be seen, reflecting off one of the tunnel walls. It had apparently gone off in a branching passageway. A firaga spell, cast by one of the SeeDs. Had to have been; nobody _else_ had that ability.

Zone, Watts and the rest of the remaining Forest Owls exchanged relieved looks. The SeeDs were coming; that alone was enough to give them hope for survival.

Then… sounds of running feet, at least one of them booted, and three shadowy forms appeared from that same branch, bolting up the dim tunnel toward the exit. Selphie and Zell led the charge, while Squall brought up the rear despite being the fastest runner. Lion Heart's cold blue glow illuminated him as he guarded their back trail, watching for pursuit.

Hurrying toward them, he said, "Selphie, get the trigger ready…. they're right on our heels…" He was brought up short at the gathering at the exit, and frowned at the group. "What's going on, what are you guys waiting for? We need to get out of here, now!"

"The exits are all being watched. Galbadians'll open fire on anything that moves. I don't know how many of our guys were killed but I personally saw three of my friends buy it." Watts said.

Squall gazed around at the gathering, the dim blue light from his gunblade making it easier to see everyone, and they all nodded confirmation as he met their eyes. "I see." Turning toward Selphie, he ordered, "Be ready with the trigger."

Glancing at Watts, he asked, "You have any ammo left?" At his nod, Squall ordered, "Cover Selphie. Shoot anything that moves in that corridor." Turning away and starting toward the exit, he finally said, "Zell, come with me. We'll take care of this. Everyone else, stay behind us."

Then, inexplicably, he sheathed his gunblade, plunging them all into darkness. "Follow me."

"What do you plan on doing?" Watts asked him as he slapped another clip into his rifle and cocked it. Squall didn't answer. He simply stalked through the gathered throng and stopped at the exit, gazing out into the darkness. He appeared to be preparing himself for something.

"Zone, remember when I told you Squall could call a dragon?" Zell asked him.

"Yes…"

"Watch."

"Zell," Squall called, getting his attention. His voice sounded remote, distant, as though his mind was already elsewhere. "Summon Cerberus. Double cast protect. I'll cast Regen on the both of us. My spell's wearing off already."

Zell left Zone where he leaned against the tunnel wall, watching, and came up to stand beside Squall. Closing his eyes, he gathered his energy, drawing it in on a long breath. Reaching the presence in his mind, he called its name and released it. Cerberus manifested with a howl, conferring its magic onto both Squall and Zell, and disappeared. Then he and Squall cast the spells that they needed, preparing themselves for their next move.

When all was ready, Squall simply walked out of the cavern, Zell beside him. Zone followed them, then stopped just inside the cavern and simply watched, staring into the darkness. From behind them, a burst of gunfire sounded as the soldiers that had been pursuing the SeeDs found their way into the corridor, shooting.

Everyone flattened themselves against the walls as Watts and Selphie held the soldiers off, Selphie with several devastating spells, Watts with a spray of gunfire.

"Whatever you're going to do Squall, do it quick! Selphie and I can't hold these guys off for long!" Watts called back. The other Forest Owls, seeing how hard-pressed he and Selphie were, started firing back at the soldiers along with them. Others, who had extra ammo, passed their clips up to Watts when he ran out.

Squall didn't appear to hear them. He stalked forward into a clearing bathed in dim moonlight, arms appearing to drift upward from his sides as though being pulled. He seemed to expand as he walked, as though he was taking a deep breath, not just of air, but of _everything_. Inhaling, drawing in, drinking in…gathering energy…pulling it from the rocks, the trees, building from within himself. Zone thought he could actually _see_ it: what looked like wan moonlight seemed to concentrate upon Squall, making him glow as though spotlighted by the moon. From the darkness, orders were shouted, and clicks echoed as the waiting soldiers prepared to fire. Zell followed calmly, giving Squall space while preparing for an attack of his own.

When Squall reached the center of the clearing, he stopped. _Everything_ seemed to stop. Everything, _everyone_ , seemed to hold his or her breath. Squall's arms were now fully extended out, as though he was pretending to fly, and his eyes were closed. Then all that gathered power was pulled in and concentrated as Squall slowly drew his arms in, hands cupped. The moonlight appeared to brighten as he did, and Zone realized then that it wasn't moonlight, but _magic_.

When both cupped hands reached his forehead, the magic began to swirl around him in eddies of blue-white light, brightening with each moment that ticked by. Then Squall's eyes snapped open and he exhaled, flinging his hands out and releasing the gathered energy.

" _Bahamut."_ He called in a voice that whispered like a distant gale, drifting over, around, and through everyone that was there to witness the summon. Immediately, lightning began to web across the sky, flickering in strobes of light, as thunder began to rumble.

Fear struck the watching soldiers and panicked orders were shouted. Rifles were fired, their reports deafening. But it was too late. The protection spells held as Squall stood still as a statue, and far above, leathern pinions of scarlet and steel soared.

* * *

Back in the cavern, Selphie felt eagerness from her Guardian, then a surge of energy as Squall summoned Bahamut. That was her sign that it was time to act. Squall only called the dragon when the situation was dire indeed. She had to trigger the explosives and get out of there. Now.

"Watts!" She called out. "Get out of here! I'm gonna blow the charges!"

"What about you?" He asked, slapping another clip, his last, into his assault rifle and spraying the bullets at their enemies in a quick burst of automatic fire. That should keep their heads down for a little while, anyway. He slung the now empty weapon over his shoulder by its strap and turned to leave, casting a worried glance back at Selphie as he did.

"Right behind you!" she said grimly, taking the opportunity before the soldiers fronting them managed to regroup to take out her remote trigger.

She and Lobo had gone round and round on the triggering mechanism, trying to find the best way to send out a signal that would set off all of the explosives simultaneously. That was the ideal situation, of course, since nobody really wanted to volunteer to die. They had managed however, and she was duly impressed with what she and the old sergeant had come up with. A simple cellular signal sent to a receiver on each of the planted charges would set them all off. BOOM. Anybody not well clear of all the exits by then would be caught in the resulting cave-in.

As a safety measure, Lobo incorporated a slight delay in the trigger. Selphie had three seconds once she hit it, to get clear. Three seconds. Just like throwing a grenade.

Selphie hit the trigger and ran toward the exit as fast as she could, yelling, "GO! GO! GO!" Watts and the others needed no further urging as they raced out of the tunnel with Selphie bringing up the rear.

Thunder rumbled and the ground shook as the explosives all went off at once, just as Selphie dove out of the exit, rolling down the gentle slope. Several of the Owls had done the same thing, and were lying on the ground, blinking at the clouds of dust and smoke that billowed out from where the cave had once been. Selphie struggled to her hands and knees but got no further as the ground continued to tremble. Just as had been intended, the explosions had precipitated a cave in, and the ground around where the caves had once been shook so hard it was difficult to stand upright.

Then Selphie turned to see the tableau that currently had Zone, Zell and pretty much everyone else there, staring as though spellbound.

Squall stood alone, unflinching as bullets fired at him were blocked by his protection spell. His expression was cold and remote as he made a sweeping gesture with one hand as though directing something yet unseen toward the soldiers that were shooting at him.

" _Mega flare. Full sweep."_ He ordered, his voice still echoing with an odd resonance.

A distant roar sounded, growing louder as it approached. Then a dark, reptilian shape blotted out the wan moonlight, as wide leathern wings beat in wide sweeps, flattening the grass and underbrush around them as it hovered above Squall.

 _Oh, my Gods…_ Zone simply stared, transfixed. A dragon. Just like Zell had said. Squall had called a _dragon_. The moonlight reflected off the steely blue wings, the darker underside reminding him uncomfortably of dried blood.

The creature opened its mouth wide, but instead of belching flame, it formed a blinding, blue-white ball of plasma. Then it spat that plasma along the path that Squall had directed, each ball of white-hot energy virtually vaporizing everything upon contact, and setting the rest aflame.

If the soldiers had the presence of mind to run the moment the dragon materialized, some of them might have survived. Perhaps some of them did. It was impossible to tell through the liquid sheets of golden flame that were spreading from the points of impact of the plasma balls and starting to devour the forest.

Then Zell stepped up and summoned the ice queen, and whatever wasn't incinerated by flame was frozen and shattered into powder.

" _It is done."_ Zone turned his attention back to Squall (though the ice queen, Shiva, was certainly interesting to watch…), who still had that odd resonance to his voice as he spoke to the dragon.

The dragon, still hovering, slowly alighted upon the ground facing him, and extended its head toward him briefly, eyes glowing with the same blue-white light as the plasma. Squall extended his hand toward the dragon and rested it upon the tip of its nose.

" _Thank you my friend."_ Squall said.

The dragon crouched and a growl rumbled from its throat, "I AM AT YOUR COMMAND, MASTER…. BUT YOU ARE WELCOME." Then it leaped aloft in one mighty spring, the downdraft from its huge wings buffeting everyone. One, two, three wing beats…. and it was gone. Faded back to its home dimension.

What was left behind was an eerie silence, and an eldritch feeling of residual power that was gradually fading. The dim light from the crescent moon replaced the light of flame; it was too dim, fortunately, for Zone to see much of what resulted from the GF's attacks. He could still hear a crackling, spitting sound from the forest that had first been burned and then frozen. Could still smell smoke, ozone, and charcoal…and more sickeningly, burned flesh.

Squall turned to head back to where Zone waited with the others, and Zone started as he got a good look at the SeeD's eyes. Cold and remote as always, but they also held an echo of the same glow, gradually fading, that the Guardian had possessed.

Then he jumped again as Selphie came up to him and moved his hand aside to check his injury, saying, "You're hurt. Let me see…"

He gasped as she lifted his shirt and probed the wound, sending flashes of pain through him that made his vision blur. He'd been so distracted by simply watching Squall summon his Guardian, he'd momentarily forgotten his injury. Unfortunately, in an effort to help him, Selphie was reminding him. Very painfully.

"It's fine," he protested through gritted teeth, hoping she'd stop before he passed out.

"No it isn't, idiot." She said shortly, then whispered something under her breath, before continuing. "It's not bad, and it looks like it went straight through, but I can't see from here if it hit anything vital along the way. So just hold still and let me heal you."

"All right." He said, sighing as he felt warmth emanating from the wound and spreading outward.

Finally reaching them, Squall gazed around at the remaining resistance members, saying, "Let's go. I doubt we got all of them, particularly if they were guarding _all_ of the exits. We need to get out of here and plan our next move."

Then he glanced over and noticed Rowan getting up shakily, and gazing around uncertainly. Squall didn't comment, instead he simply gave Zone an icy look and walked away. It took Zone a moment to figure out why. He'd said he'd be responsible for her, which meant he'd _guard_ her. At the moment, he was nowhere near her, a fact that the SeeD hadn't missed. He swallowed; feeling stung all over again by Squall's contempt.

He knew they'd have to have it out, at some point. But Zone also knew that in taking responsibility for his own people, Squall would not interfere and keep his feelings and opinions as to how Zone handled this situation to himself, unless he was asked. It was a state of affairs that Zone had never thought he'd ever encounter; he'd never even _considered_ the possibility that one of his Owls would betray the group. And the decision of what should be done with Rowan, he realized, should not be _his_ alone. _All_ of the Owls should be involved.

Taking charge of her once more, he led her in Squall's wake, wondering what to do with her. He couldn't simply let her go home, quite honestly, he didn't trust her not to run back to the Galbadians. He certainly couldn't take her back to their new bolthole, not if he wanted to be assured that it wouldn't be compromised any time soon. He followed Squall silently, brows knitted, chewing on the inside of his lip as he worried at the problem.

At least they didn't encounter any of the other soldiers that were undoubtedly out there; Bahamut's attack had completely cleared this section of the forest of enemies. They still moved swiftly and quietly however; nobody wanted to encounter any more soldiers this night. They had had enough of fighting for the moment.

"Will I live out the night?" Rowan asked him in a small, scared voice.

Zone sighed. "Squall's left that up to me. You'd already be dead otherwise."

She swallowed, "I see. What…what are you going to do then?"

"I don't know. I'm not the only one affected, so I think it's only fair to take it to the rest of the resistance and let them decide. But not before you give us whatever information you have. Even if you don't think it important, anything at all may help." He answered her, adding, "I don't feel like discussing it now though."

Silence fell, each lost in their thoughts. They concentrated on following Squall through the forest. Zone already knew they were heading back to his place…he'd already discussed that with Squall. He knew that Squall would be careful that they weren't followed and if they were…. he'd take care of the problem or lead them elsewhere. Quite honestly, he was too tired to really think at the moment. Now that the initial danger had been passed through and survived, all he wanted to do was sleep.

Squall was likewise both tired and drained, but he also knew that what they'd started wasn't over yet. This was just the opening salvo. Those soldiers that had survived the trap would return to the garrison and report what had happened. It _would_ elicit a response from the base commander: how could it _not_? That left Squall trying to calculate exactly how much time they had to rest before the entire garrison descended upon Timber and made _everyone_ pay the price for their audacity.

He was angry with himself for overlooking the possibility of _all_ of the exits being guarded. A foolish mistake that had cost too many lives. And now their surprise attack may very well be anything _but_. Attempting to shorten the time frame between this skirmish and their planned attack on the garrison would be problematical at best. Too many far flung elements to bring together in such a short span of time. But…. it _wasn't_ impossible. _Nothing_ was impossible.

For the moment however, the first priority for everyone would be rest, and healing if it was required. Even just a few hours of sleep would be helpful. With a more rested and clearer mind, he would be better able to figure out what to do next.

* * *

"Rinoa, sit down. You're exhausting me with your pacing." Vulpe said, doing her best to calm the agitated young woman. She understood Rinoa's worry; she remembered nights like this in her youth when she and her husband were active with the Forest Foxes. It was never fun to be left behind while your loved ones went off to do something dangerous or foolhardy…or both. Of course, what Rinoa's young SeeD was attempting went well beyond foolhardy and dangerous and instead waltzed right into _insanity_.

Which was reason enough for Rinoa to be anxious despite the fact that it was well past midnight and she was obviously tired. Vulpe, along with Lobo, the twins and a few other resistance members, were gathered at Zone's home to await the results of the trap.

Perhaps neither the best, nor the most secure place for everyone to meet up, but it wasn't the worst either. His house was backed against the woods and was fairly large; large enough that everyone could rest there if need be. It was easy to get to without being seen as well, something that elevated it to "doable in a pinch" status.

Everyone else was asleep. Vulpe had been asleep as well, and had awakened to get a drink of water, to find Rinoa standing alone in the kitchen, staring at the rear door. A full cup of cold tea sat ignored on the table. She didn't appear to have slept at all; instead she appeared to have stood, still as a statue, in the kitchen waiting for her SeeD, her _lover_ , to return…all night.

Vulpe felt a pang strike her heart, recalling those nights far too vividly.

"Rinoa?" Vulpe asked when the girl didn't acknowledge her.

"I should have gone with him. I should have insisted." Rinoa murmured, gnawing nervously at a thumbnail.

"Would that have helped? What about his plans? What about his reasons for having you wait here? We all heard him tell you that he needed you here in reserve because you're their best healer. And those of us who've done this a time or two agree with his logic; you protect your healers the best you can." Vulpe responded.

"We're better as a team. I've fought at his side now for forever it seems. It doesn't feel right to just let him do this on his own without my support…" Rinoa worried.

"Do you have all your healing potions, bandages and spells ready?" Vulpe asked her calmly.

"Yes," Rinoa answered with a frown, wondering at the question.

"Can you do a field dressing and heal someone who's screaming in pain? Can you heal you lover as he's dying under your hands? Can you do this without panicking or freezing up?" Vulpe pressed.

"Yes, of course I can. I've done it before…" Rinoa answered, puzzled at Vulpe's insistence.

"Not many people can. Even amongst the most hardened veterans in the resistance, there are those that simply cannot function in such situations. The sight of blood makes them ill or they faint. The screaming of the injured and dying send _them_ screaming. They don't know what to do or can't remember or simply can't deal with it. Someone like you, with your abilities, your _power_ ; yes, I know you're a sorceress Rinoa, we _all_ know now…would be invaluable to the resistance. I've heard that you can heal a mortal wound in seconds, snatching that person from the brink of death. _No one_ but you can do this. Squall was right to keep you here and safe; what he's doing now is highly risky and his feelings for you aside, the risk to you and your abilities is just as compelling a reason to keep you out of this battle." Vulpe told her firmly.

"I see what you're saying. And I get it. Whatever Squall and I are to each other on a personal level, as a SeeD, in this action, he's the one in charge and I have to abide by his orders, whether I like them or not." Rinoa sighed, then added, "I still hate waiting here to see what kind of shape he'll be in when he gets back though."

"You've learned a lot in the last few months, working with that boy. I remember when following an order was something you really had a problem with. It made me wonder how you and the Owls would manage to survive at all, much less accomplish anything." Vulpe laughed softly.

"It took me awhile, watching him put his life in danger to protect me time after time to realize how stupid I was being, rushing headlong into things and not listening to him." Rinoa said softly. "I'd hired him to help the resistance, not to protect _me_ , but he ended up doing _that_ more than anything else. And that made me realize what a hindrance I'd been to everyone here, and how foolishly naïve I was…"

Angelo growled softly as the sound of the doorknob to the back door being turned caught Rinoa's attention and she stopped, unconsciously holding her breath. She readied a blizzaga spell, just in case it was an enemy rather than friends that entered, and heaved a heavy sigh of relief when it was Zone that walked through the door when it swung open.

Then her breath stopped again as she saw the dark stain on his shirt in the dim light from over the sink.

"Zone!" she gasped, hurrying over to him, cure spell ready.

"I'm fine. Selphie healed me." He reassured her.

"Oh, good…" Rinoa sighed in relief. Then she asked, "Was there an exit wound?" She lifted the tail of Zone's shirt to check when he shrank back and pushed her hands away.

"I don't know. I guess so. I'm fine Rinoa." Zone repeated firmly.

"All right," Rinoa said, then looked around with a frown, noticing missing faces…one in particular.

Throat beginning to close up in fear, Rinoa asked in a thin voice, "Where's….where's Squall?"

Zone sighed tiredly, noticing even in the dim light how deathly pale she'd become, and answered her gently, "He's fine. He was guarding our backtrail. He'll be along any minute."

"Oh, good!" Rinoa said on a relieved breath, throwing her arms around Zone to hug him tightly.

He swallowed and hugged her back, then gently pushed her away. Rinoa gave him a small, almost sad smile, then turned her attention to the woman standing behind and off to the side of Zone.

"Rowan." Zone answered her silently inquiring look.

"I see." Rinoa said, her voice level, but something cold rising to the surface inside of her. It wasn't because Zone had taken this young woman as his lover; Rinoa would have been happy for him if not for the way Rowan had used him and betrayed everyone. Friends that she'd known had died because of her actions. Some this very night.

"What do you want to do with her?" Rinoa asked him.

"I don't know," Zone sighed, rubbing at his burning eyes. "I'm so tired right now I can't even think. I only know that I shouldn't be the only one to decide her fate. Everyone she's hurt by this needs to have a say. And besides, she may still be of some use. Problem is, I've got nowhere really secure to hold her and no one to spare to guard her…"

Rinoa nodded, and without another word, made a vague gesture with her hand and whispered something under her breath. Rowan immediately sank to the floor, unconscious.

"Rinoa! What…" Zone exclaimed, kneeling next to Rowan and checking her.

"She's fine. She'll stay asleep until she's awakened. Find a room to put her in, and that should be that. A single guard should be all you'd need if you want to keep an eye on her." Rinoa told him. Zone nodded and picked Rowan up, standing with difficulty owing to his fatigue and the awkwardness of her positioning.

"Well, that's one way to deal with her," Zell commented, entering Zone's kitchen. Squall followed on his heels, his keen gaze immediately zeroing in on Zone, who was in the process of carrying Rowan from the room.

"Squall!" Rinoa gasped with relief, rushing over to him and flinging her arms around him in a tight hug. He hesitated for a moment, then gradually reciprocated the hug, sighing quietly.

"I was so worried, I wanted to help and yet I know you wanted me here and I was so scared and…" She was whispering, face buried in his shirt. "Please don't do that again? Please? I know I'm a strong healer but I'm also more help now in battle than I used to be…"

"I know." Squall said. "But I didn't want to risk you for so little gain. You're our strongest weapon, so I wanted to keep you in reserve until the right moment."

For some reason, that statement hurt, and Rinoa didn't know why. Perhaps it was because she'd thought he had a more personal reason for wanting her out of the action. Not that he'd said anything directly that would lead her to think that, instead couching his reasons in tactical logic. Not for the first time, she was tempted to thin her shields and read him, but realized that wouldn't necessarily shed any light on the situation.

Hurt and frustration however, made her response correspondingly sharp as she pulled away and wiped at the moisture dampening her eyes, saying, "Nice to know I'm _some_ use to you." Then she caught sight of Squall's bloodied arm.

"You're hurt?" she exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Its fine Rinoa. I had Selphie cast Regen on me. It's fully healed by now." Squall said, tired, confused and irritated at the same time. He didn't understand what her problem was and was too tired to deal with it right at the moment.

"So you didn't even need me for _that_." Rinoa said, eyes blurring again. "That's just great. So I wasted my time worrying about you for nothing. Thanks. Meanie." She had to get out of there. She was tired and knew that the tension and worry she'd undergone while waiting for Squall to return was making her moody, giving her the sudden, inexplicable urge to lash out at someone. And Squall was just the closest and most convenient target. She needed to get some sleep before she said or did something that she'd regret.

So she left the room, wiping at her eyes, and not surprised to hear only silence behind her.

Squall simply stared after her, wondering what to do. Wondering what he'd _already_ done. A sharp slap on the back of his head prompted him to turn and glare at the culprit.

"Dude. Don't be an idiot." Zell said, gesturing with his head for Squall to follow her.

Sighing in exasperation, he raked his fingers through his hair and left the kitchen, catching up to her in the sitting room. He still didn't know why she was so upset or what to do, so he did the only thing that made sense to him. The only thing that _he_ wanted to do in that moment, despite his fatigue and irritation.

Heedless of the other occupants in the room, resistance members who'd awakened at their arrival; Squall reached out and grabbed Rinoa's hand, pulling her back toward him and into his arms. Then before she could say anything, though she'd opened her mouth to try, he silenced her with a kiss.

Taken by surprise initially, Rinoa quickly closed her eyes and melted into the kiss, thrilling to the way his arms tightened around her and pressed her close to his body. She speared her fingers through his hair as he continued to kiss her, employing his tongue to tease, taste and inflame. It could have gone on forever, and Rinoa wouldn't have been cognizant of the passage of time. She simply drifted on the sensation of his lips on hers, the flavor and texture of his tongue, the warmth of his body as it pressed against hers.

Eventually they separated (much to the amusement of their silent observers) and simply gazed into each other's eyes silently for a moment.

"Uhm…" Rinoa began, mind still swimming. Of all the possible responses to her out of the blue snippiness, _this_ was not one that she would have ever expected.

"We're both tired. Let's go to bed." Squall said softly.

"Yeah. Um...Why did you kiss me? I mean… I was feeling really…"

"You called me a meanie." Squall said.

Rinoa gave him a puzzled look, "yeah… sorry..." Oddly, he didn't look angry or irritated. He DID still look tired, but that was all.

Taking his hand, she led him toward the room she was using, saying quietly, "It's not exactly private, but it'll do for just sleep. Unfortunately for Zone, he isn't much of a housekeeper, so no sheets. But there's at least a mattress."

It wasn't even really a bed, just a mattress on the floor in a none-too-clean spare room, shared with several other sleepers who occupied the floor as well. It wasn't the worst place that Squall had ever slept in, and he said so to Rinoa in a quiet whisper. The mattress, while bare, was at least mostly clean.

Rinoa lay down onto the bed and sighed, watching as Squall removed his belts and gunblade, carefully laying them next to the mattress, before finally sitting down to remove his boots as well. Finally, he removed his jacket and rolled it up, putting it at the head of their bed to use as a pillow.

Laying down, he finally allowed the fatigue that had been dogging him and weighting his steps all night to crash in on him, closing his eyes and preparing to let it float him away to oblivion. He sighed and smiled slightly as he felt Rinoa snuggle close, appreciating both her warmth and her proximity.

"Good night Rinoa," he whispered quietly.

"Before you pass out on me, I have a question." She asked him.

"What?" he asked, sighing tiredly.

"What did my calling you a 'meanie' have to do with your kissing me?" She wondered.

Squall smiled and kissed the top of her head gently, answering, "I don't know why, but every time you call me that, I have the urge to kiss you silly."

Rinoa couldn't help it, she started laughing quietly. Then she reached up and caressed his cheek, using that touch to guide her lips to his.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too. Now go to sleep." Squall whispered in return.


	24. Tempting Fate

Morning. Grey and damp, and too damn early for the demands of Squall's battered and fatigued body, but there was no help for it. He'd gotten all the rest he dared to take, fully conscious even in sleep of the ticking of the clock. He didn't know how long it would take for the garrison to respond, but he knew that the time Timber had to prepare for it was limited. _Very_ limited.

He sighed, grimacing as stiffened muscles protested painfully at his every movement. Shifting onto his side, he studied Rinoa's peacefully sleeping form for a moment, finding a measure of comfort in her steady breathing and beautifully angelic expression. His heart constricted painfully, and he swallowed, the depth of his feeling for her sneaking up on him once again and frightening him with its intensity.

Reaching for her, he lightly stroked his finger over a soft, alabaster cheek, smoothing away an errant lock of her inky hair, the better for him to press his lips gently against it in a soft kiss. With a final soft caress, he reluctantly turned away and sat up, reaching for his socks and boots.

The other occupants in the room were still caught in slumber, the sounds of soft snores and heavy breathing permeating the morning silence. Ordinarily, sleeping amid such a crowd would have been next to impossible for him; his exhaustion after the battle had trumped his customary caution in that area. Even so, it had not been an easy or restful night; a truly deep, restorative sleep had been beyond him.

His mind had been far too active, mulling over the previous day's events and formulating plans. One of those plans had to be put into action immediately for anything else that followed after to work.

So thinking, he got to his feet, stretching with a pained expression and muffled grunt before picking up his gunblade and belts and buckling them on. Then, picking his way carefully through the sleepers sprawled on the floor, he left the bedroom in search of a particular individual that he'd seen among the other resistance members the previous night.

Upon finding him, Squall said, "I need you and your kin to do something for me."

Shrike looked up from the quiver of arrows he'd been contemplating, and asked, "What?"

"I need you to deliver a message to as many residents in Timber as you can." Squall answered.

Shrike focused his attention intently upon Squall at this request, asking, "What's the message?"

Squall closed his eyes for a moment, mentally sifting through what Rinoa had taught him about the Timber Flower Code, and how he might best convey the message he wanted delivered.

"Milfoil," He answered, eyes still closed. "And…pennyroyal."

He opened his eyes again and asked Shrike, "Do you have it?" Shrike nodded.

"Deliver it to as many as you can. It may help." He ordered.

"All right. Anything else?" Shrike asked him.

"Send Kestrel to your kin and tell them to be ready to act. We no longer have the luxury of time to prepare. We need to strike before the Galbadians can regroup and mount an attack of their own." Squall answered.

"Any idea of when that might be?" Shrike asked him.

"None. If you can spare anyone, set a watch on the garrison so we'll have someone to alert us the minute it looks like they're mobilizing." Squall answered.

"All right then." Shrike acknowledged, getting to his feet and slinging the quiver over his shoulder, bandolier style. The bow followed, crosswise to the quiver. A loaded, sawed-off shotgun was slid into a large holster that lay along one thigh, while extra shells were tucked into a pocket. Once his preparations were finished, he went in search of his brother.

Squall watched him go and then went into the kitchen to see what, if anything, was available in the way of breakfast. It was going to be a long day, longer still if Timber was attacked before they were ready.

He found Vulpe there, industriously cooking up a large pot of what appeared to be porridge. He sighed inwardly. It wasn't that he disliked cooked cereal precisely; it was simply that it had little in the way of flavor unless such things as honey or dried fruit or cream were added to it. Things that were, for the most part, unavailable.

He hastily revised that however when Vulpe handed him the cereal with a small bit of honeycomb sitting in the middle, explaining, "one of my boys came upon a beehive out in the woods that had gone untended. It was fully ripe with honey, so we came back a few days ago dressed in gauze, with smoke-pots in hand, and retrieved some of the honey, leaving the rest for the bees."

"Thank you for sharing this with me then," Squall said politely, knowing she'd had no reason to do that, not with young children still at home.

"You're welcome," she replied.

Rinoa found him there moments later, wandering into the kitchen yawning and rubbing at her eyes.

After getting her bowl of cereal from Vulpe, she sat down next to Squall and leaned into him briefly, saying, "Good morning. You're up early."

"Morning," he replied. "Had to get up. Couldn't sleep anymore and we're running short on time to do things in any case."

"True enough," Rinoa said on a sigh, beginning to eat. "Have you got a plan?" she asked.

"The beginnings of one. I sent Shrike and his kin out to deliver messages to everyone in Timber that they can." Squall answered.

"What was the message?" Rinoa asked curiously.

"Pennyroyal and milfoil." Squall answered. "I'm hoping we have enough time to warn everyone before Galbadia's garrison attacks Timber."

Pennyroyal; _war._ And milfoil; _flee away._ He didn't know how much good it would do, warning the residents to flee, but he also couldn't simply leave them to their fate either. Not if there was anything at all that could be done about it. Doubtless, some residents would stubbornly stay and decide to fight, but that was their decision.

Rinoa kept silent as she noticed, and _sensed_ , that he'd drifted away from her mentally, the current situation occupying his attention to the virtual exclusion of all else.

It was a pretty problem. The careful strategy that Squall had worked out for the attack on the garrison would have to be modified. If they were to still catch the Galbadians unaware they would have to attack almost immediately, rather than waiting for the cover of darkness. It would increase the risk of their endeavor exponentially. It would be a delicate thing, balancing the necessity of attacking as soon as possible with the amount of time it would require to prepare. A rushed, disorganized attack would be doomed to failure, costing lives.

Rinoa finally touched Squall's hand gently, getting his attention, before asking, "You're sure the garrison will attack Timber?"

"From what Zone and Lobo have told me, yes. I'm sure your own experiences here have told you the same. The question is not _if_ they will attack, but _when_." Squall answered her, not bothering to resist when she threaded her fingers through his. Instead, he squeezed, gently.

Narrowing his eyes, he said absently, as though thinking out loud, "the basic plan is a good one, but it'll have to be modified if we attack _today_ rather than waiting for darkness. Of course we could simply wait it out and see, but we run the risk of being caught in a situation not of our choosing…"

"Stealth is hard to do in daylight," Rinoa commented.

Squall nodded. "But not impossible." He frowned, lapsing into deep thought for a moment, before adding, "I need to talk to Selphie and Zell. Maybe Watts and Zone too."

"I'll get them," Rinoa offered, leaping up from her chair and giving him a quick kiss on the ear as she left.

She returned moments later with all four in tow. Squall waited as they helped themselves to some breakfast and sat down.

"So, do we have a plan?" Zell asked.

"The beginnings of one. I sent Shrike off to rally his kin and send a message to everyone in Timber, warning them of what's coming and telling them to flee." Squall answered.

Selphie and Zell exchanged a look with Zone and Watts.

"You know most of 'em will stay and fight, if Galbadia actually invades." Watts said.

"No, I don't." Squall said shortly. "And I can't count on them in any case. Not if they haven't volunteered already. Best I can hope for is a few stubborn fools that'll stay to protect what's theirs. And the question is not _if_ but _when_. They'll have had hours to travel back to the garrison, debrief, rest, heal…I've no doubt that the garrison commander is gathering his troops and preparing to march as we speak. How long that takes depends on how much he wants to throw at us."

"Well, I'll rally the stubborn fools in Timber. I'm good at that." Vulpe spoke up with a quirk of her lips, drawing Squall's attention to her.

He studied her for a moment before finally saying, "fine. Do what you want; just don't interfere with what we're doing. Concentrate on protecting your family and property. If what I plan to do fails, you'll need to."

Vulpe nodded, lips set in a grim line, and left immediately.

Returning his attention to the assembled group, Squall said, "The plan is the same one we worked out before. The only difference is that we're doing it in daylight, so it'll be harder. But a small group is easier to infiltrate and disrupt than a larger one is." Turning his attention to Zone, Squall said, "All I need you to do is show us the way in. You don't need to involve yourself any further than that."

Zone glared at him, "I'm not as useless as you think I am. I _have_ raided that place before."

"It's not a matter of being useless or not. You need to survive this, and the chances of that happening at this point are getting slimmer by the moment." Squall said.

"Then let's quit talking about it and get on with it!" Zell pronounced, slamming his fists together.

"Right. Selphie, how many bombs do you have left?" Squall asked her.

"About a dozen or so. Lobo and I went on a bit of a spree the day that we made them. I had a lot of bomb fragments to work with." Selphie answered.

"Good. Everyone, equip your GF's and ready your weapons. I'll send word to Shrike and his brother to be ready to attack with their volunteers as soon as they see us wreaking havoc in the garrison. If nothing else, we can at least destroy their armaments and ordinance." Squall said. Standing up, he added, "Don't worry about capturing the garrison. There's no time for delicacy. Raze it."

Selphie, Zell and Rinoa all nodded. Zone and Watts exchanged a glance, then returned their attention to Squall and nodded as well.

"Zell, go and wake everyone. Tell them to eat up and get ready to fight. I'm going to need a runner to catch up with Shrike and Kestrel too, let them know we're going for the attack." Squall said.

Studying him with narrowed eyes, Zone commented, "first thing I got right about you." Squall simply glanced at him, eyebrow raised.

"I figured from first glance you'd be the sort to plan things out first before you attack. But once you _do_ attack, you go right for the jugular." Zone explained.

Squall shrugged, "best way to end a fight."

"Zone, what do you want to do about Rowan? You're going to need everyone, no one can be spared to watch her…" Rinoa asked.

Zone frowned and was about to answer when a voice spoke up, "I'm going with you."

Everyone turned and stared. Rowan stood in the kitchen doorway, face white and set.

"No. Absolutely not." Squall said coldly, hand dropping to the hilt of his gunblade. It was obvious what _he_ felt the best solution for the problem she presented was.

"Rowan…" Zone began, casting an uncomfortable glance at Squall, and taking note of his tightening grip on the gunblade.

"Please, just listen to me." Rowan said, biting her lip. Looking down at her feet, she said, "I know…you don't have any reason to trust me but I've got no reason to betray you now. They planned on killing me right along with the rest of you last night. That means they never intended to let Robbie go. He might even be dead now. Nobody's heard anything from D-district for weeks… since you guys escaped."

Squall watched her in stony silence as she hesitantly approached him, stopping just out of reach of his gunblade. It took all the courage she had to face him but she had to have at least _one_ question answered.

"When you escaped, did anyone else go with you?"

"We managed to release a few prisoners as we escaped. As many as we could." he answered her unwillingly.

"Did any…get out?" she pressed. She didn't know what she was asking for. Even if by some miracle a few of the prisoners managed to win free along with the SeeDs, it was highly unlikely that Robbie had been among them. And even if he did manage to get out as well, these SeeDs wouldn't know it was _him_ … they didn't know him or what he looked like.

But if there was even a slight chance…so she asked, not sure she even dared to hope.

"No."

Tears filled her eyes as Selphie, perhaps in an effort to mitigate Squall's harshly negative response, explained, "We managed to get our weapons and Guardians back, so we were able to fight our way free. Those that tried to follow us didn't have that, and we… _couldn't_ … help them. It was all we could do to get ourselves out in one piece. We very nearly didn't make it …. Squall almost died…." Her voice trailed off as she recalled Squall's near fatal slip on the disappearing bridge as they'd raced across it. He'd been guarding their rear and nearly hadn't made it across before the bridge collapsed in on itself.

"So…no one else made it out." Rowan stated. Selphie, Zell and Squall shook their heads.

"Maybe he's still there?" she asked, grasping at any thread of hope. Any at all.

Squall, impatient at the delay, finally stated flatly, "I doubt it. It's possible of course but typically, in any regime change, things like political prisoners tend to get swept under the rug."

"What do you mean?" Rowan asked in a small voice.

"What I mean is that with Deling's murder and Sorceress Edea's defeat, anyone involved in the activities in D-district prison, likely took it upon themselves to sanitize it. Bury it in the desert sands of central Galbadia and disavow any knowledge of what happened or who was in there. In other words, whoever wasn't killed in the escape attempt was likely executed after everything was over. Your husband is probably dead along with them." Squall answered harshly.

Silence fell as Rowan processed this, eyes filling with tears. She had nothing left to hope for. Nothing left to lose. Nothing.

"We're wasting time. Let's go." Squall said, turning away to leave.

"I can help you. Please, let me help you. I know my way around there, how to get in…" She said, her voice trailing off. "Please."

Squall glared at her silently, arms crossed over his chest. No way would he trust his life to this woman, not when so many who had done the same thing in the past had paid for it with theirs.

Making a decision, Zone spoke up, "Okay. Stay by me Rowan."

Squall turned his glare onto Zone, who challenged, "I'll watch her. I'll make sure that if anyone pays for this decision, it's me, and me alone. Besides, she's been inside there more often than I have."

Shaking his head, Squall headed for the door, muttering, "Hyne save me from fools."

* * *

It took surprisingly little time to finally put the pieces on the board, despite the hasty opening. The Owls that had fought with them the night before melted away into the forest at Squall's order to rally the rest of the resistance and meet in their assigned positions near the garrison.

They all slipped soundlessly through the forest, the brightening dawn shooting brilliant beams through the rustling canopy above them. They endeavored to speak as little as possible, all senses alert to their surroundings. Squall appreciated anew the usefulness of having Angelo with them; a quiet order from Rinoa had the dog trotting at point, ears pricked and alert. He had no doubt that the dog would warn them should someone try to attack.

He had all of his Guardians equipped and on alert as well, augmenting his senses to a degree that rivaled the dog's.

Doubts and anxieties assailed him as he walked, Rinoa close to his side. He was relieved of course that they were finally taking action but worried that the change in their plans and the resultant uncertainties would be their undoing. He knew intellectually that even the best thought out military strategy seldom survives its first engagement. But that didn't stop him from thinking that meticulous planning, a solid framework, offered a better chance of success than haphazardly throwing themselves into the teeth of the enemy.

But even the best-laid plan needs to make room for change, as it is the only constant in the universe.

So while he was preparing himself mentally to fight and possibly die in this cause that he'd been hired for, he also fretted about inconsequential matters. He hadn't showered or changed clothes, his socks chafed and most troubling of all, he'd neglected to clean his gunblade. That alone of everything else bugged him the most. He knew that the blade would work just fine even if it wasn't perfectly clean and polished; the design was a good one and not too terribly fussy about that sort of thing. But Squall _was_.

It got so bad he finally gave himself a mental kick and sternly thought, _Enough Leonhart! It's fine; Lion Heart will work just like it always has for you, clean or not. Get over it and concentrate on the job at hand unless you don't actually want to survive it. You don't have time to stop and clean it now anyway._

He knew it for what it was; a distraction to keep from dwelling too much on the battle to come. Something to focus upon other than killing or being killed; something to help him to present at least the illusion that he was calm and ready for action when he was anything but. He didn't know a SeeD with a working brain that _didn't_ get nervous just before commencing an action, and he was no different.

It was the same when he'd paused outside the massive, ornate door that separated him from destiny in Ultimecia's time-frozen castle. Fear, apprehension, nervous excitement, and grim determination all roiled together inside of him; then, as now, he gave himself a few minutes to feel those emotions before he firmly shoved them aside and locked them down. It was either that or allow them free reign to paralyze him into inaction, something that would be fatal to him and everyone around him.

Rinoa could sense his emotional state, even shielded as she was. It was doubly impressive to her, given that knowledge, that he could still appear so calm and unflappable. She thought to thin her shields then and try her calming trick on him, but she herself was no less anxious than he was. It would be pointless. Instead, she reached for his hand, gripping it firmly.

Glancing down at her, he allowed a ghost of a smile to pass his lips as he squeezed her hand gently.

In no time at all it seemed, they were staring at the walls of the garrison from the screen of trees and underbrush that surrounded it. A leaf-dappled shadow detached itself from an overhanging limb a few meters ahead of them and dropped to the ground as lightly as a cat landing upon a cushion. Alerted by Angelo's soft growl and his own Guardian's warnings, Squall did not react. Instead, he stopped and waited for the man to approach.

It was one of Shrike's kinsmen, easily identified as such by the long-limbed, rangy stamp that the entire clan bore. This one however, had deep midnight blue eyes rather than the black or dark brown that the rest of his relatives had. And instead of black hair, it was a rather dark auburn. For some reason, the man's features seemed familiar but Squall was sure he'd never met the fellow before.

"They're staging." The man reported in a low voice. "I was about to come and find you."

"What are they going to throw at us?" Zone asked him. Squall flicked a glance at him, then returned his attention to the spy.

"Looks to me like the entire garrison's gearing up. They've got two battlewagons in there, and they're both hot and ready to go. Two armored escorts each with .50 cal and flamethrowers. I dunno what they'll have stocked magic wise." The man answered.

"I'm guessing it would be the usual," Zell commented. Squall nodded.

"Can you guess at a headcount?" Squall asked him.

The man grimaced, scratching at an eyebrow, then said, "not really. Lots, that's all I could see. Looked like an anthill after you'd poured water in it. Most of 'em appeared to be their shock troops. They're bringing out the big guns."

"Thank you…uh…" Rinoa began, giving the man an inquiring look.

"Peregrine." He answered, glancing at her.

"Peregrine," Squall said, directing the man's attention to him. "Let your kin know that the attack is on, just as we planned…only louder. We're the advance force, and will create as much havoc and confusion as we can. Tell them to attack when they see my signal."

"What signal?" Peregrine asked.

"Watch the skies. You'll know it." Squall answered. The man nodded and loped off quietly without further comment.

They advanced as closely as they dared, hunkering down in the cover of some small sapling trees and tall ferns. The ground had been cleared for the space of several meters around the perimeter of the base, making it difficult to approach the barrier without being seen.

After waiting a moment to get a sense of the sentry movements around the perimeter, Zone finally whispered, "This way." He moved through the choking underbrush at the edge of the forest with far more grace and facility than Squall had thought him capable of.

Squall followed him without comment, more than happy to let Zone take the lead with Rowan trailing _him_ rather than at Squall's back. At least that way, he could keep an eye on her.

Zone led them on a twisting, circuitous course around the base until he reached the area that he'd indicated. The blind spot. The flaw in the base's design.

The perimeter wall was three meters high and topped with razor wire. Not an insurmountable obstacle but certainly not an easy one to negotiate either. Squall narrowed his eyes as he studied the wall, which was unfortunately the only thing that could be seen from where he crouched in the underbrush. He'd have to climb a tree like Peregrine to see anything more than that.

Presumably, beyond the wall was the blind corner and the building that had the conveniently placed A/C unit.

A touch on his shoulder brought his attention back to Zone, who motioned silently for him to follow. It was only moments later that Zone stopped and hunkered down again in the brush.

"There." He said quietly, pointing. "Do you see it?"

Squall narrowed his eyes and studied the section of the wall that Zone had indicated. At first he _didn't_ see what Zone was trying to call his attention to. Then he did.

The ground dipped slightly at that point along the line of the wall, and the blocks followed the contour of the ground. At the same time, a slight hillock rose a meter or two back from the wall itself. And finally, there was a misalignment of the cinderblock, possibly due to the dip in the earth at that point. It caused some of the blocks to protrude slightly. Enough to possibly provide handholds to someone determined enough to scale the wall.

Presumably, that someone, with a good running start, could launch him or herself off of the hillock at the wall and leap high enough to grasp the handholds and pull up. Presumably. Of course, that still left the question of the razor wire, but that could be dealt with in a number of ways.

Glancing over at Zone, Squall saw one of those ways. A pair of sturdy sticks, approximately half a meter long and forked at the top were tied together with string and thrust into his belt. Zone had obviously used them in the past, if the scratches in the wood were any indication. It only made sense; cutting the wire would lead to the eventual discovery of their means of access. By the simple expedient of lifting the wire out of the way to gain entry, this secret was preserved.

Eyes narrowed; Squall considered the challenge it presented. He could easily launch off of the hillock and reach the top of the wall, even without Bahamut augmenting his strength. The tightly coiled cord in his pack would serve nicely for the rest of it, once the sticks that Zone had brought were employed. All that he would need was a sturdy anchor to tie the cord to. Once they'd gotten over the wall the rest would be relatively easy.

At least as far as getting _into_ the garrison went.

Now that the prospect of actual action was facing him, Squall's mind settled into calm as he divested himself of his pack, checked that his gunblade was firmly holstered and unlikely to come loose, pulled the cord from his pack and took the sticks that Zone had brought. He handed the cord to Zone in exchange for the sticks. Shoving his pack far under a blackberry bush, he scooped handfuls of leaf litter over it, making sure it would be difficult if not impossible to see. He'd come back for it later. If he was able.

"Squall…" Zone began. He'd intended to scale the wall himself and help the rest over.

Squall cut him off with a curt, "Toss the cord up to me once I'm at the top."

Zone hesitated and nodded.

Squall turned his attention to the cleared space between the thicket they were hiding in and his target, gauging the path he'd need to take. Blind corner and supposedly inadequate security cameras or not, Squall felt it safer to move as fast as possible…less chance of getting caught.

Without further comment, he slipped quietly out of the underbrush, tested the footing by scuffing his toe into the turf and took off like a shot. He began to count his strides as the ground rose beneath his feet, gathering himself for a prodigious leap. Three strides. Then two. Then one…

At the final stride, Squall planted his feet and launched himself toward the top of the wall, arms outstretched. Momentum, and the extra strength granted by Bahamut combined to make his leap a successful one and his hands reached for and found purchase at the top of the wall underneath the razor wire. Unfortunately, he couldn't continue using his forward motion to mount the top of the wall yet; he had to deal with the barrier that the wire presented first. Instead he let his body slam against the block while making sure of his grip at the top of the wall, panting, while he gathered himself for what he had to do next.

Hanging by one hand, sweating, shoulder, arm and back aching, he reached for and pulled out the sticks he'd stuck in his belt, mildly surprised they were still there despite his activity. Teeth gritted, he continued to hold his position as he awkwardly fitted one of the sticks under the wire in front of him, raising it. He did the same with the other stick, leaving enough space between for him to crawl through without dislodging them.

Gritting his teeth hard enough to shatter them, he took a deep breath and hauled, feet scrabbling on the face of the wall while he eeled his way beneath the wire. Rolling over, he pulled himself into a sitting position and waited for Zone, who'd followed him to the wall, to toss the rope to him.

He did so without comment and Squall looked around for a sturdy anchor to tie it to. That came in the form of a pipe running down the side of a surprisingly close building. Close enough in fact that, after making sure the knot was fast and the anchor was in fact sturdy enough for use, Squall was able to reach the corner of the roof with a short jump.

Hauling himself upward and onto the roof, he saw the shielding AC unit and beyond it, the hatch leading to the attic. Crouching back against the unit (and fortunately, in the shade) he waited for everyone else to catch up.

Zone pulled himself up onto the roof shortly after Squall did, followed by Rowan, who struggled mightily but managed to make it onto the roof by dint of a helping hand from Zone. Zell and Selphie followed, swarming up the rope and leaping up onto the roof with such agility that it looked easy for them. Watts and Rinoa were longer in coming, however.

Long enough that Squall began to worry at the delay. Crawling to the edge of the roof he lay flat upon it, thereby making himself more difficult to see, while he peered toward the brush where he'd left them. He strained his senses, listening, watching tensely, not only for Rinoa and Watts but also for any sentries that might be about. The fact that they'd gotten in so easily thus far made him extremely nervous.

At length they came, and Squall cursed quietly as he realized that the delay had been due to Angelo. He wanted to kick himself. He hadn't even _thought_ of how to get the damned dog over the fence and up onto the roof. Some professional _he_ was.

Fortunately, between them, Rinoa and Watts had figured it out. Watts preceded her up the rope and waited, while Rinoa rigged up a makeshift harness on the dog, tying the end of the rope to it. Then she simply cast a float spell and used the rope to guide her and Angelo up the wall. Watts took charge of Angelo once they got close to the top, and lifted him up toward the roof.

"Squall! Grab him, will ya?" Watts hissed. Squall edged farther forward, and _reached_.

His gloved fingers touched the dog's soft fur, and he buried his fingers in it, searching for the harness that Rinoa had put on. Finally finding it, he hooked his fingers under it. It was hard, lying prone in a stretched out position like he was, to pull the dog in. Even with the float spell, Angelo was almost too heavy for him to manage, particularly as Squall had no leverage to work with. He tried, but he'd leaned out too far; the edge of the roof was at the middle of his chest and he was starting to slip. He froze, then tried to slow his slide by digging his toes in.

Watts's eyes widened as he noticed Squall slipping and Squall's stomach plummeted as he contemplated a headfirst fall onto the concrete below. Then a pair of hands grabbed his right ankle, stopping his slide. Another pair grabbed his left ankle and both pulled, dragging both him and the dog back from the edge of the roof. Rinoa came up next, assisted by Watts who followed closely after her.

Squall rolled over onto his back for a moment, heart pounding, and simply breathed.

A shadow, blocking out the sun, resolved itself into Rinoa, who smiled down at him.

"Taking a nap?" She asked quietly.

Squinting up at her, Squall finally grimaced and rolled over again, then crawled over to the AC unit. As he did he glanced over to both Zone and Zell and gave them a nod of thanks. They nodded back.

Upon reaching the unit he sat up and braced his back against it, running his fingers through his hair as he let out a breath. Rinoa and Watts joined them, with Rinoa sitting down next to him, deliberately close enough that their thighs touched. Squall glanced over at her and gave her slight smile.

Looking around at the assemblage, Squall sighed quietly. Time to move onto the next step in the plan.

"All right. Let's get inside and get on with this. Everyone know what to do?" Squall asked.

Everyone nodded, and Zone said, "Yes. Follow me. One at a time." At that, he cautiously scanned the rooftop and approached the access hatch. From at least one angle, it was hidden from view by the bulky air conditioner, but he could still be detected should someone from a different angle happen to look up. Even so, the hatch was opened and Zone inside quickly enough that a blink would have missed him. Rowan followed without any prompting.

One by one they disappeared into the hatch, presumably to carry out their assignments. Squall left Rinoa, himself and Angelo for last.

"I'll go first. You pass Angelo down to me, then follow. I'll catch you both." Squall said, crossing the space between their cover and the hatch, swinging his legs over after sitting down, gripping the edge for a moment before letting go and dropping into the darkness. It occurred to him as he did that he had no idea how far the fall would be, but he figured if it were far enough to require a rope, Zone would have mentioned it. Even so, he did his best to relax so as to prevent injury upon landing.

He landed with a soft thump, knees bent, in the storage closet that Zone had told him the hatch led to. He froze, listening intently for any indication that he'd been heard. When he didn't he gazed upward toward the square of sunlight that illuminated the otherwise dark and stuffy room, waiting for Rinoa to appear with Angelo.

"Squall?" she whispered down to him. Her form, augmented by the large dog she carried in her arms, blotted out the light.

"I'm here. Send him down." Squall answered her quietly, arms stretched upward to (he hoped) catch the dog. Fortunately, Rinoa had retained the presence of mind to take the rope with her, and she lowered the dog down with it. Angelo bore this pretty well, and Squall admired anew Rinoa's facility with training him. It was obvious the dog didn't _enjoy_ it; it was evident in the stiffened legs, flattened ears and wide eyes. If the tail hadn't been bobbed, Squall was sure it would have been tucked as well. But aside from that, the dog didn't struggle.

He caught and guided the dog down, removing the harness immediately. Then it was Rinoa's turn.

Squall waited, arms outstretched, to catch her. Rinoa squatted down and carefully sat upon the edge of the hatch, putting first one leg, then the other down into the space beneath the opening. Then she took a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly before pushing off…. to float gently down into Squall's arms. He held her waist as she descended and landed lightly upon the ground, and continued to hold her for several heartbeats afterward.

"Float spell?" he whispered unnecessarily.

Rinoa nodded, "a weak one. Didn't want to just float there above your head."

"Might've been interesting if you'd worn a skirt." Squall murmured with a slight smile. Rinoa snorted and gave him a shove. He moved back a pace, but his hands never left her waist. They lingered there, their warmth easing the knots that roiled in her stomach.

"And here I was thinking you were all business." Rinoa whispered, smiling back at him. Her heart, already racing in anticipation of the battle to come, pounded fit to burst at his proximity.

"I am. Mostly." He replied softly, smile fading.

"I like it more when you aren't." she said, moving closer. She slipped her hands around his waist and held him, lightly, as he did her.

Time seemed to stop. Rinoa simply gazed at him, memorizing the planes of his face, the clear cerulean of his eyes. She saw his throat move as he swallowed, and felt a thrill of joy at this crack in his mercenary façade. The mask was showing more and more fissures, as time went on, and she was glad of it. If this was the last time she'd see his face; his _real_ face, and feel his touch like this, then she wanted to treasure it.

"I have something of a confession to make," she whispered then after the silence stretched while they simply stared at each other.

"Oh? What is it?" Squall asked her curiously.

Rinoa smiled and dropped her eyes to her feet, cheeks suddenly heating up, as she answered, "Do…Do you remember when I told you about that storage room? On our way back from FH? How I kept asking you to help me inventory the supplies there?"

Squall snorted softly, giving her a lopsided smile, "I remember. And I kept telling you I'd already gone over the supplies list and didn't need to check it again."

"And I called you a disgustingly efficient Commander Meanie." Rinoa responded, looking up again to meet his gaze.

Squall smiled again and moved his hands, urging her closer. "You did."

"I was trying to get you alone. The secret area in the Training Center was too obvious, and you avoided it like the plague anyway. I couldn't get you in there to save my life. So I figured the next best thing would be a storage closet. I thought my plan was fool proof." Rinoa admitted in an embarrassed whisper.

"I see." Squall murmured, smile fading again. They'd both moved closer without realizing it, drawn to each other like two magnets. "And what would be the purpose behind that?"

"I came so close to losing you," Rinoa whispered, eyes filling with tears. "You'd just gotten back on your feet and I could tell you weren't a hundred percent yet, and you still were working and trying to put everything right. They delayed the celebration as much to give you time to recover as to give us all time to get back home to Balamb." She dropped her eyes then, embarrassed, adding, "I….I just wanted…" She stopped and swallowed.

Raising her eyes to his, she took a deep breath and whispered, "I wanted to hold you, and know what it felt like to be held by you. I wanted to feel your lips on mine and kiss you for the first time. I just… I wanted to know if what I felt for you was real or just a fantasy…. and I wanted to know if you felt the same way. I just…. wanted to know."

Squall swallowed as he studied her, the sheen of unshed tears making her eyes bright, the rose-pink flush on her otherwise pale cheeks, the signs of stress, fatigue, and anxiety that she couldn't hide. She stood illuminated in a shaft of light from the open hatch, and it beamed down upon her like a benediction from heaven. All she needed was to manifest her Angel Wing and the ethereal image would be complete. His beloved. His Angel. _His_.

He wordlessly pulled her close and covered her lips with his, kissing her softly, gently, sweetly. Telling her without words how much he loved her. She tightened her arms around him and held him close, opening her mouth slightly and inviting him inside. He delved deep, accepting her invitation and branding her with a searing kiss before reluctantly pulling back.

Resting his forehead against hers, breathing raggedly, he whispered, "I'm sorry, but the rest is going to have to wait until later."

"I know." Rinoa breathed, "So you're not allowed to get killed. You have to finish what you started."

"All right. On account then." Squall murmured, planting a soft kiss on her forehead, then the tip of her nose, making her laugh softly.

Then she sobered and asked, "What are you going to do? The command staff isn't going to be in their barracks, they'll be scattered all over this place. You won't be able to take them all out. You might not even get _one_ of them."

The gentle smile and softened gaze hardened back into his mercenary's mask as he answered, "I'll kill as many as I can and let Hyne sort out who's whom."

Rinoa nodded, eyes large and dark in the uncertain light. Releasing him, she slipped away from his grasp; then stepped out of the light and into the shadows with him, heading toward the door of the storage room.

Turning back to him with her hand on the doorknob, she said, "Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Sorry for such a long wait between updates, I've bitten off more than I can chew with three stories in progress while trying to deal with the vagaries of every day life. Still, I'm doing my best to continue with each of them, updating in their turn as often as I can, though now its a month and more between them. Anyway, hope you like this one, not much action here but the next chapter WILL make up for it. They're in the garrison now. Time to start a war.


	25. The Razor's Edge

_There's fighting on the left_  
And marching on the right  
Don't look up in the sky  
You're gonna die of fright  
Here comes the razors edge

_You're living on the edge_  
Don't know wrong from right  
They're breathing down your neck  
You're running out of lives  
And here comes the razors edge  
Here comes the razors edge  
The razors edge

" _The Razor's Edge" Music and lyrics by AC/DC._

For the umpteenth time that day, ever since they'd started on this mad plan, Zone wondered if he was a fool. Not for listening to Squall's strategies; despite the fact that the SeeD was reassuringly imperfect, he more than made up for it in sheer brilliance. No, he wondered if Squall was right and he was a fool to trust Rowan, a woman who'd proved that she shouldn't be. Still, there was no help for it; and she might indeed be of some use. Despite his own misgivings, he couldn't feel overly threatened by her. Not when she was so patently without options.

Moving about the base and working their way gradually toward their goal of the armory was a nerve-wracking process however, made even more so by the fact that if Rowan should take it into her head to do so, a single shout could be their end.

The SeeDs, Zell and Selphie, along with Watts, followed close behind Rowan, occasionally stopping her and dragging everyone into this hiding place or that. An alcove here, a closet there, an opened doorway, a blind corner…each potential encounter set Zone's heart pounding fit to burst from his chest.

He didn't know how they knew when to hide, but they always did. Perhaps it had something to do with their Guardians. He'd heard something of the sort from Squall.

At any rate, the slow, somewhat meandering progress that they made eventually led out to the asphalt-paved parade ground, where the Galbadians were setting the stage for their attack. It almost literally boiled with activity, with soldiers running to and fro while orders were being shouted over the din of several rumbling diesel engines, the loudest of which belonged to the battlewagons.

At the moment, they were crouched behind the front tire of a troop transport truck, which apparently was not to be put into service, if its silent engine were any indication. Selphie was studying the rumbling battlewagons with intense interest, while Zell was watching the preparations taking place and doing his best to find a clear pathway toward the armory.

"Battlewagons have got to go," Selphie whispered, watching them with narrowed eyes.

"Got enough firepower?" Zell asked her quietly.

"Yes," she answered.

"You know where, right?" he asked.

She nodded.

"You find an opening, take it. I'll use the confusion to attack the armory." Zell said.

"All right." She replied, attention sharpening on the milling soldiery.

Zone exchanged a glance with Rowan, then with Watts, seeing the same apprehensive anticipation that he feared he was displaying as well. The SeeDs appeared to have forgotten their presence, their attention wholly upon their respective jobs. Taking advantage of the momentary respite, Zone checked the magazine of the assault rifle that Zell had given him after quickly, brutally and _quietly_ killing a soldier they'd stumbled upon just prior to arriving at the parade grounds. A click caught his attention and he watched Watts doing the same with his weapon.

Thinking back on the encounter, he suppressed a shudder. Zell hadn't been _completely_ silent; the sickening crack of the man's neck as Zell broke it had sounded as loud as a gunshot to Zone. Once again, he couldn't help thinking of Zell and his commander as a pair of leashed jungle cats; Squall's strength more than reminiscent of the lion he'd taken for his totem, while Zell's lithe speed and agility put him in mind of a leopard.

Like the leopard, Zell crouched tensely in hiding, waiting for an opportunity to strike. It came when Selphie saw a break in the activity and rolled under the truck without a word, coming out the other side and rising to a crouch, then disappearing from view. The quick, light patter of her footsteps was all that could be heard.

Watts frowned after her, hesitated, and shot Zone a look. Then he shrugged and followed after Selphie. Zone had an overwhelming urge to swear inventively at his friend's impulse.

"Come on." Zell whispered then, leading them to the cover of several drums of petrol, the fumes making Zone's nose itch and eyes water. From there, it was several crates of supplies, then another vehicle, this one a general utility truck. Each new hiding place working them closer to the armory.

They crouched behind the truck, Zell watching the battlewagons and the other idling vehicles in silent anticipation. Zone divided his attention between the battlewagons and the armory, the entrance of which was just a few meters away and heavily guarded. He had no idea how they'd manage to get past so many guards.

He was about to ask, worrying as he did if he should even speak, when Zell caught his eye and saw the question reflected in his anxious expression. Wordlessly, he pointed at Zone's rifle and mimed spraying bullets at the guards. Then he tugged on his ear and indicated the direction Selphie had gone.

_Attack the guards after Selphie blows up the battlewagons._ Zell's signals had been clear enough on what he meant. Zone nodded, confirming that he understood. He shifted slightly and Zell held up his hand, then pushed it toward the ground.

_Don't move. Wait._

All right, he would wait. Next to him, Rowan swallowed and licked her lips, looking nervously around. Zone hoped she knew better than to speak, then he saw her eyeing his rifle longingly. He thought about that for a moment.

Unarmed, she was a liability. Armed, a potential asset. Squall might not trust her as far as he could throw her (given the SeeD's strength, that might be a surprisingly far distance, come to think of it…) but Zone rather thought that at this point in the game, she was more likely to help than hinder. If she were inclined to expose them to the soldiers, she'd had plenty of opportunities to do so prior to this point. So thinking, he pulled a 9mm sidearm he'd appropriated from its resting place at the small of his back, checking the magazine and flipping off the safety.

He handed it to her without comment, putting his finger to his lips to remind her to keep silent when she gasped audibly. Zell watched the exchange without expression, then turned his attention back to the guards and the milling soldiers.

Zone waited as tense minutes ticked by, waited for Selphie to set the powder keg alight and start a war. Waited for far longer than he felt he could stand. He thought he'd be prepared for it, when she set off the explosives. It wasn't as though it was unexpected after all.

He still jumped when the bombs went off and all hell broke loose.

* * *

Squall had a different mission. A harder one. How does one eliminate the entire command staff of a military base when he has no idea where they all are? The logical answer of course would be the base's command post, the administrative offices. The command staff would likely be there, directing the operation. Issuing orders, receiving reports, gauging the readiness of the troops. It would have the most activity, the largest concentration of soldiers coming and going.

And Squall was going to have to take them all on. He glanced over at Rinoa, who walked confidently at his side, and felt both heartened and worried. Heartened that he wouldn't be facing such impossible odds alone, and worried that despite Rinoa's power as a sorceress, she would pay with her life for supporting him.

They had prepared as well as they could. Regen, protect, aura spells…all either cast and active or ready to hand should they be needed. Squall was as ready as he could get, as was Rinoa.

They ghosted along the hallway of the building they had entered, encountering no one as yet. As they did, Squall tried to bring up a mental image of the layout of the base itself. They had entered through an access hatch that led to an attic storage closet; in what Zone had told Squall was an office building of some sort. Not surprising, as Galbadia's military was notorious for its bureaucracy. Fortunately, the offices were empty for the most part, with almost everyone else engaged otherwise.

_Almost_.

Angelo's pricked ears and soft growl warned Squall at the same time his Guardian did. A uniformed soldier, likely a clerk, exited an office down the hall ahead of Squall and Rinoa, prompting him to duck into the shelter of a doorway, pulling Rinoa with him. A cautious peek a few seconds later showed an empty hallway.

They continued on, with Squall drawing his gunblade with grim purpose. They would not reveal themselves until they had to. So anyone they encountered would die.

A surge of…. _something_ …prompted Squall to glance at Rinoa, then pause briefly as her eyes flared golden and her skin appeared to glow with a soft luminescence. The effulgence brightened and flowed out from her shoulders, gradually taking the form of transparent, spectral angel's wings. They faded to near invisibility as they walked, but Squall could still see them out of the corner of his eye if the light hit just right. He could still feel the cool, feathery touch of her power when he brushed against them.

Half-seen like smoke, half-felt like mist. They were real, they existed, and yet…they did not. This physical manifestation of Rinoa's power had been extremely disconcerting to him at first, but he'd quickly gotten past that, as the only time he'd ever seen it was in the extreme straights of a life-or-death struggle. The larger concern of survival took precedence on those occasions, and her power had quickly become a very useful tool, saving his and their friends' lives on more than one occasion. It had been easy to overlook the strangeness of it because of that.

And now…it was no longer strange. Merely a part of her, an ability no different in his mind than an unusual talent for swordsmanship, or singing or music.

They padded silently along the hallway, making their way toward the exit. From there, they would work their way toward what Squall hoped would be a fully staffed and active command center. They encountered no one else as they descended from the top floor to the ground floor via the stairs, with Squall mulling over an exit strategy, eyeing the emergency exits speculatively before dismissing them from his mind. Like all such exits, they were alarmed.

Front door then. And there was no help for it, they would be seen.

Flattening himself to the side of the glass doors, out of sight, Squall whispered to Rinoa, "We'll have to do this in a rush. Engage no one unless we have to."

"Right." Rinoa nodded, checking the weapon she had strapped to her forearm.

Peering out through the glass, Squall watched the coming and going of uniformed men, waiting. Selphie's responsibility would be to destroy the battlewagons and as many of the other vehicles arrayed out on the tarmac as she could. In carrying out that responsibility, she would create a diversion that would allow Squall and Rinoa, as well as Zone and Zell, to launch _their_ attacks.

So he waited, moment by tense moment, hoping that Selphie had not been captured and that she'd been able to plant the explosives. He did his best to ignore the tight ball of nerves that his stomach had curled into and simply watched, pressed against the wall, and waited for Hell to break loose.

It did so in a satisfyingly dramatic fashion. A sudden boom, a roiling fireball shooting skyward, followed by a second, then a third. Squall pulled back away from the doors and swept his arm around Rinoa, pressing her into the reassuringly solid block of the wall with his body. He tucked his head into the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of her skin and hair, holding her against him while the ground shook and the hot rush of the blast shattered the glass of the doors he'd just been peering through.

When the ground stopped shaking, he cautiously peeked around the wall to where the glass doors had once been, now just scattered shards and empty space. Shouts, screams, boiling confusion were what greeted him. Perfect. He marked the direction that he thought, according to the layout of the base, the command post would be.

"Let's go." He said, glancing back to see Rinoa's nod before crunching carefully through the glittering remnants of broken glass, mindful of the chancy footing, before reaching the pavement outside and increasing his pace to a jog, gunblade ready.

Angelo loped ahead, while Rinoa ran next to and slightly behind him. Another explosion went off, causing him to duck and increase his pace. Fortunately it wasn't close enough to be a problem, though the debris that rained down from it might be. The chaos increased and for a while, nobody paid any attention to them as they raced toward the command post.

Then… "Intruders! HALT!"

A shot rang out as Squall altered course and charged at the soldier, gunblade cutting through the air with a deadly whistle. The bullet whizzed harmlessly past Squall, a clear miss, while the gunblade sliced through skin, muscle and bone, leaving a twitching, bleeding corpse behind. Squall charged onward without slackening pace, a growling red bloodlust beginning to rise in the back of his mind. The dragon in his mind was watching, eagerly waiting its turn.

Ahead and to each side, soldiers began converging upon them, yelling orders and shooting. Neither Squall nor Rinoa slowed or altered their course, and none of the soldiers facing them could stop their charge. Later, Squall would respect them for their courage, but at the moment, they were simply obstacles.

Rinoa began casting thundaga and firaga spells, taking care of anyone that attempted to flank them, while Squall became the physical embodiment of Hell's fury. He cleaved his way through one soldier, ducking the attack of another and whirling to slash out with Lion Heart, decapitating him. He parried and blocked with lightening speed, finding an opening to gut his next opponent, then kicking him aside to deal with yet another attacker.

Their progress slowed as more soldiers, drawn by the battle, began taking part in it. Squall growled in frustration at this, not wanting to call Bahamut just yet. Rinoa kept casting thundaga and firaga spells, backing him up as she always had, and doing a far better job of it than she had on their first pitched battle together. Now, instead of having to protect _her_ , they protected each other.

Confident that she was guarding his back and his flanks, he continued to charge forward, hacking and slashing his way through the enemy soldiers, carving his way toward what he hoped was the command post. The flurry of activity around the building certainly gave it the appearance of being a place of some importance.

Viciously slashing the throat of an attacking gunblader, Squall came to a sudden lull in the battle; the group that Squall had just cut his way through a far enough distance from the command post that a sudden but appreciated respite was the result. He knew it couldn't last, but he needed that moment to get his bearings and prepare for his next move. A gurgling at his feet caught his attention and Squall glanced down at the soldier whose throat he'd just slashed, meeting the fear-filled eyes of the dying man briefly. Then he rammed his gunblade down into the man's chest, coolly hastening his departure.

Explosions continued to go off, whether that was Selphie's doing or if that meant that Zone and Zell had succeeded in taking control of the armory, thereby availing themselves of the ordinance there, he couldn't be sure. But the resultant confusion was certainly working in his favor. Narrowing his eyes, he glanced at Rinoa and gave her a wordless nod. It was time to up the ante.

She drew herself up to her full height and closed her eyes, concentrating on forming the spell that she could see clearly in her mind. She had seen it used only once, by Griever as they fought it in Ultimecia's castle. But she _remembered_ it. She remembered how much power it required; she remembered the shape, the feel, and the flavor of the spell. Somehow something that Ultimecia had left behind, some residue of her power that had mingled with Rinoa's own, had given her the ability to _recognize_ the spell…to _re-create_ it. So she concentrated, pulled together and wove threads of power into the shape of the spell, spinning it out like threads from a spool until she could see and feel its shape taking place.

When she judged it ready, a surging, spitting ball of energy still roiling in her mind, she released it by calling its name. "Shockwave Pulsar!"

Light. Blinding, searing, brilliant light. And heat, washing over him like fire, almost but not quite burning, consuming him. Squall couldn't help but close his eyes, ducking behind his upraised arm to shield his face; a bodily reflex that he knew better than to fight. He had the odd feeling of somehow being apart from the storm, protected within it as in the eye of a hurricane, while unimaginable forces raged just outside.

It seemed to last forever, with a quiet, rushing whoosh like a blooming of flame. Then suddenly it was gone, leaving an empty, ringing silence behind. Squall cautiously lowered his arm, opening his eyes to see the result of that awesome release of power. The shockwave pulsar spell was a powerful one, and devastating no matter the level of magic employed in its use. Rinoa, with the practice she'd had not only in using Guardians but also in wielding her own magic, was nearly the equivalent of an A-level SeeD by this point, particularly after the battle with Ultimecia.

The destruction was impressive, to say the least. Squall stood side by side with Rinoa inside a circle of nothing but fine, white ash that extended to a twenty-five meter radius from where they stood. Outside that radius was twisted, blackened, burned wreckage….and bodies. But beyond that, the command post still stood, only slightly singed. And despite the fact that Squall and Rinoa had completely destroyed a portion of the base with a single attack, the base commander somehow managed to rally his remaining troops and convinced them to fight on.

Squall didn't know how many soldiers that one spell of Rinoa's had accounted for, but obviously enough remained that they felt they could continue. But Squall wasn't finished. He'd barely even _begun_ to fight.

_Master._ Bahamut's voice, both question and eagerness combined in that one sending.

As more soldiers came at them, shooting, Squall closed his eyes, ignoring the whizzing bullets. Even those that managed to penetrate his weakening protect spell, leaving hot furrows of pain behind. He took a deep breath, gathering power, and called.

"Bahamut! Mega flare!"

_Watch the skies,_ He'd directed the resistance. _That is your signal._

A dragon called by moonlight and descending amid a crackling of lightning and thunder was an awesome sight. But it could be dismissed as part of the mist and magic of the night, equal parts dream and nightmare. The ephemeral reality of the Guardians upon this plane of existence tended to reinforce that notion.

But a dragon called in full daylight was revealed in that light to be all too devastatingly real. And unmistakable to someone waiting for a sign that it was time to attack. No one else but SeeDs used GF's. And no one but Squall could call a dragon.

* * *

Zell, Zone and Rowan were crouched behind some sandbags, the erstwhile shelter of the two still, bloodied soldiers that lay against the wall of the armory. They had managed to achieve their objective; Zone _still_ couldn't figure out exactly _how_ , and now had the entire armory at their disposal. All that Zone could remember of it was a blur of whizzing, pinging bullets, and Zell somehow disappearing from view and reappearing again, leaving twisted and broken bodies in his wake.

He knew he'd killed more than a couple of soldiers himself, and surprisingly, Rowan had held up her end as well. Between them, Zone felt, if not equal to the SeeD, at least not a completely useless burden.

Selphie was out somewhere at large with Watts, creating an impressive amount of havoc, and Zone was more that a little impressed with her accomplishments. It wasn't hard to track her progress either, each new explosion that damaged yet another vehicle or building was easily identifiable as her work.

Squall and Rinoa were presumably working their way toward the command center, bent upon Squall's objective of taking out at least the base commander, if not the entire staff as well. Their progress would be impossible to track, but there _was_ the signal that Squall said that he'd send.

_Watch the skies,_ he'd said. Zone knew he meant to call the dragon again, and wished for a moment that he could see the looks on the faces of Shrike's kin and the rest of the resistance members when he did. Hell, _he_ wanted to see it; wanted to thrill again to its terrible, devastating power and beauty.

But they had control of the armory…barely. And if they wanted to _keep_ control of it, they had to fight off the entire garrison in order to do so…or at least those soldiers not otherwise occupied with trying to find the saboteur who kept blowing things up. So he and Rowan were given the job of laying down covering fire for Zell, who used his Guardian liberally to keep the ranks thinned enough that they _could_ hold their objective. By the skin of their teeth.

"DOWN!" Zell yelled, throwing something toward a jumble of boxes and pallets that a squad of soldiers was sheltering behind while peppering them with sporadic bursts of gunfire. Zone and Rowan, followed quickly by Zell, immediately flattened themselves to the ground behind the sandbags, covering their heads as the grenades that Zell had just thrown detonated, taking out fully half of the soldiers and all of their hiding spots that had been plaguing them.

It was after the debris had finished clattering to the ground, the energy of the blast expended and the damage done, when it was safe to look up, that it happened. Zone had just raised his head and started to peek above the meager shelter of the sandbags, when Zell gasped and immediately pressed his hand down upon Zone's head, forcing him back down, doing the same with Rowan as well.

"What?" he began, only to have Zell order him, " _Don't_ look up! No matter what! Keep your eyes closed, unless you want to be blinded!"

He immediately closed his eyes and opened his mouth to ask why, but the answer came immediately after that urgent statement. A blinding flash of light, blinding even through his closed eyelids, a wash of intense heat and the sound of roaring flame threatened to burn not just his eyes, but _everything_ to ash as he pressed against the ground. Zone squeezed his eyes shut more tightly and prayed.

_What the hell is THAT?_ He thought wildly. He hadn't seen the dragon, so couldn't be sure if that was Squall's doing or not. It went on just long enough for him to worry they'd be consumed by it. …Then it stopped as suddenly as it began. The silence that followed left a chill up Zone's spine.

Zell lifted his hands from Zone and Rowan's heads and said calmly, "It's okay now." Zone looked up, blinking, and met Zell's eyes, shocked at how calm he appeared. Rowan simply stared, wide-eyed and pale.

Swallowing to moisten his dry mouth, he asked, "What….what was that?"

"Rinoa. She cast Shockwave Pulsar." Zell licked his dry lips and added in a subdued voice, "I didn't know she knew how to do that."

Zone felt as though his heart had stopped. Then it started pounding fit to burst.

" _Rinoa?"_ He croaked hoarsely. Then he asked, "How did you know…. it was coming?"

"Shiva warned me. She sensed the spell being cast." Zell answered absently, cautiously peering over the edge of their sandbag barrier.

"Did that…. wipe everybody out?" Zone asked, following Zell's lead and peeking over the barrier as well.

A sudden barrage of gunfire sent them all diving for the cover of the sandbags, with Zell saying unnecessarily, "Apparently not."

"How? I thought for sure we were cooked. Anyone else would have been if they hadn't been under cover." Zone demanded as he checked the magazine on his rifle and cursed quietly upon discovering it empty. "Shit. I'm out," he added.

"Me too," Rowan said. "I'll go get some more clips." She immediately backed up and crawled toward the ammo boxes.

"Thanks." Zone said.

"We were just outside the range of the spell I think. I saw where it ended. So I guess it didn't get any of our friends out there." Zell belatedly answered Zone's question. Then he squinted at the sky and frowned slightly.

Zone followed his gaze and felt a keen sense of disappointment at its emptiness. He hoped Squall hadn't gotten caught up in that spell or had fallen in battle. They needed the resistance to attack; they couldn't hold out much longer, even with the entire garrison's arsenal at their disposal.

_Come on man, call it already. We need the reinforcements._ Zone thought, huddled behind the sandbags, listening to the thunk of bullets imbedding themselves into the barrier, the zing of those that ricocheted off to parts unknown. He hoped that Rowan would hurry up with the ammo; he knew it wouldn't be long before the soldiers shooting at them would advance if they didn't return fire.

It was with that thought in mind that Zell snuck a peek over the barrier and cursed softly, pulled the pin on another grenade and quickly threw it. He ducked down again when it went off and immediately stood after the smoke cleared and summoned his GF to take care of whoever was left.

But they kept coming. Apparently, it was decided to mount a concerted effort to retake the armory. And even with Zell and his arsenal on their side, they could only hold out for so long. Zone looked around for Rowan, wondering where she was with that blasted ammo. He was a sitting duck without it, and hated the fact that Zell had to handle everything on his own.

"I need some fucking ammo," He growled in frustration. The grenades would do in a pinch, and he grabbed and tossed a couple, hoping to thin out the enemy soldiers a bit. They both ducked as they went off and waited for the smoke to clear.

Zell glanced over at him, and then said grimly, "You might have to go get it. I don't see Rowan anywhere."

"What?" Zone demanded.

Zell didn't respond, busy casting multiple firaga, blizzaga and thundaga spells. Chewing at his lower lip, Zone cautiously surveyed the situation, not liking the fact that despite Zell's best efforts, they were in imminent danger of being flanked. Making a decision, he crawled backward and, keeping as low as possible, went over to the metal ammo boxes that the soldiers had kept close to hand in their nest, finding them empty upon inspection.

"Shit," he whispered. He'd have to go into the armory itself, a risky proposition but one he had no choice but to do. Zell was busy fighting for them all, and he was just barely holding off the advancing troops.

Keeping low, Zone headed back toward the armory, shoving the niggling worry over Rowan's whereabouts to the back of his mind. A bullet whinged past his head, striking the door panel far too close for comfort; Zone flattened himself against the ground, crawling the rest of the way into the building on his belly.

He went immediately to the metal boxes of ammunition, grabbing up two of them and turning back toward the doorway. A muffled sound off to the side caught his attention and he whirled, heart pounding. Rowan crouched in the shadows next to the doorway, huddled in on herself and visibly shaking.

"Rowan?" Zone whispered.

She looked up and focused on him, face tear-streaked and expression bleak. "I can't….I can't do this anymore." She gasped quietly and gulped, scrubbing her face against her sleeve, and added. "I'm sorry, but I can't make myself go out there."

Zone studied her in silence for a moment.

Taking his silence for condemnation, she whispered thinly, "I know…." she snuffled and continued, "I should probably die for what I've done. I know Squall at least wants to kill me. And….this would be a good way to…um…but… But I don't want to." Dissolving into tears, she said, "I don't want to live, but I'm too scared to die. I'm such a coward!"

Frowning, Zone tried and failed to think of something, _anything_ , to say to her. He'd liked her well enough once, though he'd never felt more than friendship for her, despite the intimacy of their relationship. Now however he was strung between what he'd felt in the past and what he felt now. And because of that, he found it harder to be sympathetic to her plight than he'd thought. Still, she would be of no help in her current condition, and would perhaps be better off out of the way.

Finally he said softly, "Stay here then. Hide. If we don't make it then run."

She gave him a jerky nod and he turned toward the door, dismissing her from his mind. Popping open one of the ammo boxes, he quickly reloaded his rifle and shut it again. Peering cautiously out toward the nest, and seeing that everything appeared clear, he started to make his way from the armory to where Zell was crouched, panting and looking exhausted.

There was a momentary lull in the gunfire, a result of either a GF summon or some other sort of attack that the SeeD had done, so Zone felt relatively safe in crossing the two or three meters from the armory's doorway to back to the nest. Keeping low, and dragging the ammo boxes with him, Zone crept back, keeping an eye out for anything and feeling horribly exposed. Vulnerable to attack.

With the way he'd slung his rifle over his shoulder and the heavy boxes of ammunition he was dealing with, Zone very much doubted that he'd present much of a challenge to anyone, should they attack him. He fumbled and scuffled, straining his ears through the thunder of explosions and sporadic gunfire for… _anything_.

Zone became acutely aware of the scent of the dirt he was scrabbling through, the reek of his own fear-sweat and the acrid stench of the black smoke that wafted toward him from a burning pile of debris nearby. The scrape of the metal ammunition boxes raked sharp fingers down his spine as he dragged them along with him. Explosions, the spitting crackle of lightening, the rumbling boom of thunder, the sharp bark of gunfire, Zell shouting and swearing at him…. it all threatened to overwhelm him.

In a split second that seemed to last forever, everything happened at once; a scrape and a _click_ from behind him, a scream, "Zone!" from Rowan, the staccato pop of a firearm going off, and another answering directly behind him. Zone whirled, scrabbling to bring his rifle up in time to see Rowan slamming back against the side of the armory building, a trail of red blotches blooming across her torso. Her gun dropped from her nerveless fingers, thudding into the dirt as she slowly slid down the wall, leaving a red streak behind.

"Rowan!" Zone scrambled over the intervening distance, glancing once to the side to dimly register the slumped form of the Galbadian soldier that she had shot to save him…at the expense of her own life.

Her eyes were already glazing, breathing labored and harsh. Blood…. so much blood… the warm, metallic smell of it made his gorge rise. He swallowed back the bile that rose to the base of his throat and blinked his watering eyes, staring helplessly at her. Somewhere in the back of his mind, something was shouting at him to _do_ something, put direct pressure on the wounds to slow the bleeding… _something_ …but he was paralyzed. Too much blood, too many wounds…He didn't even know where to start.

"I'm…s..sorry…" she whispered thinly. A single tear leaked from the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek. She slowly lifted her hand and reached toward him, fingers trembling.

"P..please… 'm s-scared.." she gasped, letting the arm drop limply to her side. She started to slide sideways, and Zone scrambled to her side and caught her his arms, laying her across his lap and staring into her face, his mind refusing to register what was happening. Her blood was soaking his pants, warm, thick and wet, and a little trickle of it spilled from the corner of her mouth. She stared urgently into his eyes, fighting for breath in a labored wheeze.

"Ro…" he whispered, unable to stop the moisture that welled up and dropped onto her cheek.

"I've... paid…. forgive…. me?" she asked with great difficulty, eyes focused steadily on his.

With a trembling hand, Zone brushed the hair back from her face and wiped the moisture away from her cheeks where both his tears and hers had mingled. In another time, under different circumstances, he might have loved her. He couldn't say with any honesty, even now, that he felt that way about her…. at least not the way that he felt about Rinoa. The way that he knew, just from watching, that _Squall_ loved Rinoa. That didn't mean that he didn't care about her, that seeing her dying in his arms didn't make his heart ache.

Blinking away more moisture from his eyes, as the life faded from hers, Zone said softly, "Yes, I forgive you Rowan." She struggled for a moment, eyes wide and blank with pain and fear, ash-pale lips working soundlessly to speak. Zone kissed her softly on the forehead, repeating, "I forgive you."

Sense returned to her briefly and she gave him a weak smile. "Th…" Then everything stopped, and Zone stared down at fixed, lifeless eyes. Bright sunlight grew dim as he gently closed them, unable to bear that empty gaze any longer. Thunder began to rumble and Zone wondered dully if a storm was coming. He directed his attention skyward to check.

Lightning speared in fiery webs across a sudden bank of black clouds, and a distant shriek, growing louder, could be heard within the rumbling of thunder and crackle of lightning. Then _it_ burst through the clouds with a challenging roar, steely blue scales glittering, blood red wing undersides luridly flashing with its wing beats.

The great dragon soared overhead, growling audibly, then suddenly changed direction and dove, spitting white-hot plasma down onto the base with surgical precision.

* * *

"DOWN!" Selphie yelled, suiting words to action and diving for the dubious cover offered by a bank of waste bins. Watts followed without hesitation, not much interested in having his hide perforated. Despite the fact that Selphie had assured him that she'd cast a protection spell on him, Watts didn't feel like taking any chances.

Another explosion, this one far too close for comfort, made him duck even further and cover his head with his arms.

"Jeez Selphie, don't you think you ought to give us a little more lead before you set your bombs off?" Watts exclaimed; shaking his head to try and dispel the ringing the blast left behind.

"Sorry," She began, and then froze briefly, expression turning distracted. Her attention snapped back to him so quickly that Watts thought he'd imagined her brief abstraction. Then she pounced on him, pushed his head down into the dirt and dove down alongside him, ordering him to close his eyes and not to open them for _anything_.

Watts shut his eyes tightly and opened his mouth to ask her what was going on but got his answer in that moment when a wash of searing heat and bright light, light so bright that it dazzled even through his tightly shut eyelids, threatened to burn both Selphie and himself to bone. The heat increased to the point of near pain, and Watts began to fear very seriously that they _were_ being burned to bone. Then just as suddenly as it began it was over.

Cautiously raising his head, he blinked, then turned to look at Selphie, who was also in the process of taking stock of things.

"What…" He cleared his throat and licked at his dry lips, "What was that? How did you know it was coming?"

"My Guardian warned me," She answered. She licked at her lips as well and answered slowly, "That was a shockwave pulsar spell. I've only seen it used a few times…. by Ultimecia."

"Ultimecia? That sorceress? I thought you guys killed her?" Watts asked, ice forming a ball in his stomach.

Selphie bit her lip, "We did. But… maybe Rinoa figured out how to re-create and cast the spell. That's the only thing that makes sense."

"Oh." Watts said. He wasn't sure how to feel about that. Hearing from Rinoa that she was a sorceress was one thing. Seeing it, actually _seeing_ the kind of power that she could wield, was _completely_ different. Frightening.

More than frightening. _Terrifying_.

Then he remembered the fear that had lurked in the back of her eyes when she had told him and Zone. He remembered how she'd clung to her SeeD as though he was her lifeline…. And as odd as it seemed, maybe he was. Who better than to protect a sorceress than one who'd been trained to destroy them? That thought however, brought another surge of fear, this time not of Rinoa and what she could do, but _for_ her, and what might need to be done _to_ her. _Who better to watch a potential enemy than someone close to them?_

It was a truism that went beyond cliché: Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer…. as close as a lover.

The ball of ice in his guts expanded and hardened into lead.

Watts shook his head, wondering at the trend his thoughts were taking. He'd seen Squall and Rinoa together when they'd thought no one was watching. Seen the softness in his eyes, the gentleness in his touch, and the utter devotion that Rinoa's own gaze held when she looked at him. It wasn't just for show, and he didn't think Squall was so good an actor that he could keep such a ruse going for as long as he had. Besides that, his own admission of his feelings for Rinoa had the ring of sincerity.

Which meant that his position was every bit as precarious as Rinoa's. It was his _job_ to destroy sorceresses, and instead he was protecting one. She could destroy _him_ just as easily as he could destroy her. Their situation held so much potential for tragedy that his heart ached.

"Hey," Selphie said, grabbing his shoulder and getting his attention. "Come on. We need to get that front gate open and let the reinforcements in!"

"What?" he asked, staring blankly at her. Selphie wordlessly pointed toward the sky.

Steel blue and scarlet wings spread wide, Squall's dragon soared majestically through a sky turned the color of gunmetal gray. Banking sharply, it dove, spitting plasma.

Watts stared for a moment, jaws agape at the beautiful terror in the sky, then quickly checked his magazine. Finding it empty, he slapped a new clip in and cocked the gun, then turned and ran after Selphie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, this chapter is in NO way finished, but i rather liked the stopping point I've reached. I didn't want it to dragon (cough) too long, after all. It will continue in the next chapter, with more fighting, blowing things up, and general mayhem. It IS a war after all.
> 
> again, sorry for the length of time between updates, my life has been more than just a little busy lately. I'm on vacation for the next week, and intend to try to convince Ashbear, who will be visiting me during that time, that 115 isn't REALLY that hot, not when there's no humidity. My guess is, we'll spend alot of time in a pool.
> 
> enjoy your summer folks! There IS more to come...


	26. War Dogs

Officially, to the world at large, Balamb Garden's elite mercenaries were known as SeeDs. Over the last nearly two decades, they had gradually become known, and _feared_ , as a fighting force to be reckoned with. Their formidable skills, singly and in groups, commanded the respect of the most powerful military institutions in the world. Those same skills also commanded a high price, which few grudged to pay; SeeDs were selective in the jobs they would accept, but by and large, they returned full value for their pay.

But their fearsome reputation as warriors gave rise to another, more colloquial nickname: War Dogs. Not wolves, no. Wolves killed only from instinct, as a means to survive. Dogs however, while related to wolves, could be trained to kill on command. Which made them infinitely more dangerous.

The dogs of war could be bred to be larger, more powerful, and far deadlier than their wild cousins…while at the same time, as obedient to their masters as a sheathed sword or holstered gun.

The human War Dogs, the SeeDs, were likewise due to their intensive training, a far more dangerous breed of warrior than the normal run of soldier. Trained from childhood, given techniques and weapons beyond the ken of most, imbued with not only frightening physical strength but also intelligence and cunning, they were a step beyond even the regular military's special forces.

Which was why, when the cry went up that SeeDs were coming, many trembled in fear. Those that survived battle with them, lingered in shock at the sight of what appeared to be ordinary teenagers wielding such powerful weapons and magic that it made the standard-issue para-magic seem pointless in comparison.

It was hard to say if the garrison's soldiers, given notice that they were about to be attacked by SeeDs, would have fled or surrendered rather than face them and die. The fact that it was only three SeeDs that had attacked along with the resistance would likely have made little impression on them and they'd have stayed to fight. After all, what good would three measly SeeDs, just kids really, do against an entire army's garrison and the weapons it had to hand?

The answer of course came in the form of the SeeD's Commander, who by himself, using the weapons _he_ had to hand, came close to destroying the entire base single-handedly.

Of course, they wouldn't have known what was coming, even if they'd seen him. A skinny, middling height, teenaged boy with a pouty scowl and sullen blue eyes? How intimidating could _that_ be? His exploits battling Edea, Adel and finally Ultimecia were still too new for all the details to have been revealed and disseminated. Even weeks, almost months later, they were still piecing everything together, and Squall's role in those events was only just becoming known. In the chaos of war, conflicting and often exaggerated stories emerged. It was easy to dismiss the truth when it was so fantastic as to be unbelievable.

So the fact that Squall could _literally_ call a dragon to his service was more than a little shocking, to everyone who witnessed it.

It took only three attacks from Bahamut, each surgically directed by Squall to produce the most devastating and effective results, to not only demoralize the Galbadian army but to virtually annihilate the base as well. By the time the resistance arrived to reinforce the SeeDs, most of the fight had been seared out of the soldiers by the dragon's breath.

But it was by no means over. Squall still had the base commander and his staff to deal with. If they could be induced to surrender, all well and good, but Squall rather thought that the man would fight to his last breath from sheer bloody-mindedness instead. Either scenario worked for him.

So, he and Rinoa continued carving their way through the increasingly desperate defenders of the command post. He _could_ have, had he not cared anything for the base's communications array, simply have called Bahamut and had him toast the entire building, roasting alive all of its occupants; but that was rather heavy-handed, and not as sure as it sounded. And they needed the comms intact; needed to be able to communicate, not only to Galbadia's command in Deling City but to the base itself and Timber's citizens as well. Besides, the building was solidly constructed and the probability of its high value occupants escaping with their lives should Squall opt to send the dragon after them, was higher than if he went in to take a personal hand in it instead.

So he coldly, methodically, hacked and sliced his way through the soldiers that had converged upon the command post in an effort to stop his advance, ignoring the sweat that ran down his sides and dampened his forehead, threatening to sting his eyes. Doing his best not to choke on the bitter smoke that rose in greasy black smudges from the fires all around that Bahamut had left behind. Shoving aside the pain and fatigue that he knew was there but didn't have time to acknowledge.

Rinoa too, solidly at his side, bravely holding up her end, was pushing through her body's physical limits. He could feel her beside him even if he didn't dare turn to look. He could sense her tiring; could hear it in the harsh breaths that she took, could feel it on the surface of his skin in a way that he couldn't explain but nonetheless somehow knew. And yet she kept pace with him and did not fall behind, despite what it cost her. That, more than anything else, gave him both the strength and the heart to carry on. He could not fall while she still stood.

He _would_ not.

They fought smoothly in tandem, falling into a pattern learned through countless battles both large and small, with enemies both weak and powerful. Rinoa, whose ability to use magic was far stronger than Squall's, concentrated on casting both defensive and offensive spells. She protected and healed herself and Squall, as well as guarding his back with a varying array of battle-spells. And, without realizing it, inching ever closer to the _true_ power of the sorceress-knight bond.

For the moment however Squall's focus was wholly upon his objective: the enemy in front of him and the building that he needed to take. Had he even a hint of what the bond was all about, he wouldn't have had time to think about it right then anyway.

And those hapless soldiers, who faced _this_ particular War Dog, hastily revised that nickname in light of his ferocity. Those that survived referred to him afterward as The Lion of Balamb.

* * *

War Dogs. That's what Zone had heard some of the resistance members saying in reference to the SeeDs. He had to scoff internally at that; a _less_ doglike crew he'd never seen in his life. Even perky, bubbly Selphie, on the surface all sweetness and innocence, had a core of steel and skills that could kill in a heartbeat. The term "War Dog" hinted at blind, unthinking obedience to their masters, and Zone knew that wasn't the case with _these_ SeeDs. Maybe not even SeeDs in general. So the term was at best, inaccurate.

Anyone who'd seen Squall studying a chessboard or planning this attack could see that. It was the same for the other two SeeDs. No mindless obedience from _them_ either.

Zone knew he should be focusing on the battle instead of woolgathering about a colloquialism as it applied to the SeeDs, but seeing the dragon in the sky and observing its devastating effect had given him such a huge sense of relief that nothing that happened afterward felt real to him.

The rest of the resistance had poured in from the main gate shortly thereafter, proving that Selphie and Watts had managed to win their way through to open it and allow their reinforcements access. And the dragon, in just three devastating attacks, had neatly burned the fight out of a large portion of the garrison's defenders.

That did _not_ of course mean that the fight was over, by any means. They still had soldiers shooting at them, holding fast to their orders to defend the base, despite the fact that it was all but lost. But Zell and Squall were right; it would likely have to come down to a complete massacre of every soldier there unless they could take out the command post and force surrender. The enormity of that seemed impossible until one took into account the incredible amount of damage that had already been done by the SeeDs.

And just like that, suddenly the impossible _wasn't_.

They had turned their position at the armory over to Shrike and three of his kinsmen, who took up defensive positions and promised hell to pay for anyone who tried to retake it. Thus freed from that responsibility, Zell led Zone through the damaged base, ducking debris and dodging bullets, fighting their way toward what they both had deduced was the command post. Zone assumed that Selphie and Watts were making their way toward it as well, and likely for the same reason that they were headed there: Squall and Rinoa would be there, and that would be where the battle would end.

Zone knew that Zell wanted to be there to support his commander, likewise with Selphie. That such a seemingly cold-hearted and aloof individual should inspire such loyalty and comradeship was something of a surprise to Zone. Then again, he'd already seen that Squall was nothing if not complex.

So they ran, choking on the acrid black smoke that permeated the base, blinking tears from burning eyes and keeping sharp watch out for enemies. Or trying to.

A sudden explosion far too close for comfort knocked Zone off his feet and flung him against the side of a building, leaving him momentarily stunned.

"Zone!" Zell's face appeared in front of him, looking anxious.

"Yeah," He grunted, blinking and trying to reclaim his scattered wits. He noticed Zell surreptitiously looking him over and sighing with relief when he saw no major injuries.

He sat up with a groan, moving slowly and feeling every bruise and scrape he'd just acquired. Aside from feeling somewhat battered however, he _was_ in fact intact, something he breathed a quiet prayer of thanks for.

"Where the hell did that come from?" he asked roughly, coughing from the smoke that burned his throat.

"Dunno," Zell answered, frowning in the direction the blast had come from. "Sounded like a mortar shell. If it weren't for the smoke hiding us, they'd have gotten us. Too damn close for comfort as it was though."

"Shit," Zone said, climbing slowly to his feet and bringing his rifle up, scanning the surroundings for…anything.

"Damn smoke's too thick. Can't see anything," Zell said tensely, looking around like Zone for whomever it was that had fired that shell.

It wasn't a grenade; it had been too big for that. Might have been fired from a tank somewhere, but it was impossible to tell what its trajectory had been because of the poor visibility. Of course, it was largely due to the smoke that they hadn't actually been hit, so Zell and Zone were both inclined to count that as a blessing.

"Well, we'd better get our asses out of here before whoever it is figures out where we are and adjusts their aim." Zone said.

"Right. You up for a sprint?" Zell asked him.

"Do I have a choice?" Zone asked wryly in turn.

"Not if you want to keep your hide intact." Zell replied.

"Lead on then," Zone said, gesturing for Zell to precede him with a courtly bow.

They started running again, and the explosions started up again. Some far enough away not to be much of a problem, others coming disconcertingly close indeed. One such knocked them both off their feet and they scrambled behind the partially crumbled wall of some sort of building, panting and shaking. More explosions followed, but at random intervals and distances.

"Fuck. That one nearly got us." Zell said, frowning at the blood welling from his side.

"What do you mean _nearly_?" Zone demanded when he glanced over and saw Zell bleeding.

Zell grimaced and closed his eyes, saying shortly, "It isn't bad. Just a little bit of shrapnel. I've got enough cure spells to take care of it." He lapsed into silence for a moment, and then whispered something under his breath. A soft blue glow appeared, and then concentrated upon the site of his injury before fading away. He sighed in undisguised relief, and opened his eyes.

"You okay man?" he rolled his head over, gazing searchingly at Zone.

"Yeah," he answered. "Tired though, and the smoke's killing me."

"Me too. Gotta do something about that fucker. Only needs one lucky shot and we're done." Zell said grimly.

They listened to the shelling for a moment in silence.

"He's just shooting at random. He's got no idea where anyone is. He's just guessing." Zell finally said.

"That almost makes it worse," Zone began, but Zell shook his head. "It means he can't see us. We can use that."

"What, you mean take him out?" Zone asked, staring at Zell and wondering if he'd lost his mind.

"Yes." Zell answered.

"How do you propose to even _find_ him before one of his shells finds _us_?" Zone demanded.

"I've been listening to the shelling. There's a pattern to it. I can use that pattern to find whoever's shooting that thing." Zell said.

"You don't even really know what it is," Zone said.

"This base only has two things that can shoot off a shell that big. Its got to either be a tank or a battlewagon." Zell said.

"I thought Selphie took out the battlewagons." Zone said, frowning.

"It's pretty hard to destroy them completely," Zell said, and then added, "even if she did, there's still tanks, and I don't think she got them all."

Zone sighed, trying to ignore his exhaustion and pain, and then said, "Okay. Let's do this then."

"Right. Follow me." Zell said, jumping up with all of his former vigor. Zone followed more slowly with a grunt, prompting Zell to look at him sharply.

"That won't do. Not at all," He murmured, and before Zone could say anything he felt the cool touch of Zell's healing spell, banishing his pain and fatigue.

"Better?" Zell asked.

"Yeah, thanks." Zone answered.

"Good." Zell said and without another word, he turned and summoned the ice queen, directing her attack toward the fires that had been belching the foul black smoke that was smothering everything. The fires were immediately quenched and the black smoke became white steam, which Zell wafted away with an aero spell.

Once the way was clear…disconcertingly so, he took off at a run. Zone followed after him, rifle cocked and ready.

* * *

Fatigue. He was feeling it. With every swing and slash of Lion Heart, it felt heavier and heavier. But he was nearly there. Nearly to the command post. Nearly to the goal. No way could he stop now, not even to cast a cure spell to help dispel the worst of his exhaustion. Enemies were thick on the ground here, and Squall was tested nearly to the limit of his endurance, dancing, ducking, and dodging attacks while hacking and slashing away with his own. There was no time stop for spellcasting.

A whistling swoosh prompted him to duck, narrowly avoiding decapitation from the gunblader who'd somehow managed to catch him with his guard down. Rinoa gasped at his narrow escape and immediately cast a thundaga spell, then several powerful firaga spells in quick succession, taking out several defenders and giving Squall more room to maneuver.

He continued his deadly dance, edging farther away from Rinoa so as to give himself additional space. Shaking sweat from his eyes, he charged forward and fought on grimly. He blocked a high attack, sweeping the leg out from under the man, sending him sprawling, then whirling to block yet another gunblade that came singing for his blood. The blades clashed loudly, then Lion Heart slid down his opponents blade, striking sparks, before Squall twisted and flung it aside, coming back with a deadly slash that caught the man across his throat. The man fell, blood spraying.

He was breathing audibly now, and he knew the soldiers he faced could see his exhaustion clearly. He didn't care. Gripping Lion Heart tightly, he brought it up to guard again. Lips tight over clenched teeth, he directed a cold blue glare at the next soldier that faced him and charged forward, meeting the man's gunblade with a shock that sent him reeling.

A cool, feathery touch seemed to sink into his skin then, and Squall sighed inwardly in relief as Rinoa's magic banished his fatigue and healed the as yet minor injuries he'd started to acquire. He was too busy to do much more than mentally thank her, saving his breath for the fight. Feeling much restored, he attacked with renewed vigor, Rinoa's supporting spells helping to clear the way.

They were at the doorway and the soldiers were now fighting in bleak desperation. Squall backed off for a moment and flicked a glance over to Rinoa who nodded, then closed her eyes.

Raising her hand gracefully, she gestured toward Squall and whispered the name of the spell, "Aura".

Squall stood still, bathed in golden light as the spell settled gently upon him, suffusing him with warmth, releasing his inner strength. It sang through his blood like fire, thrumming like a plucked harp string. Bringing his gunblade up to guard, he strode forward forbiddingly. He saw the fear growing in the eyes of the soldiers who had the unenviable task of trying to stop his approach, but could not acknowledge it. Not now. When the fight was over, then maybe. For the moment however, they were merely obstacles to be cleared away so that he could reach his goal.

Still, he much preferred an actual fight to simple butchery, so focused his attention upon a soldier and gave him a challenging glare, twitching the tip of his gunblade and daring the man to attack. In the end it would indeed come down to simple butchery, but at least it would _start_ as a fair fight.

So, if it was not with joy then it was at least satisfaction that he saw not only the man he'd non-verbally challenged, but two of his comrades as well, take a firm grip upon their weapons and charge.

He met them in the only way that one _can_ meet multiple opponents: with lightning speed and deft, deadly skill. He parried and kicked aside one of them, sending him sprawling, then spun and caught the blade of another and shoved him back. Whirling upon the third, he saw an opening that he took advantage of like a striking snake, slashing the man's throat and then ducking the attack of the man he'd shoved back. Spinning while still ducked, he shot his leg out and swept the man off his feet, knocking him down and buying himself time to meet the first attacker, who'd by now regained his feet and was charging at him once again.

A quick exchange of clashing blades, a graceful dodge to the side with Lion Heart swinging low, and his attacker was disemboweled and writhing. Not sparing another second's thought for the man, Squall turned his attention to the last remaining soldier, attacking him ferociously just as he stood upright. Driving him black with blow after powerful blow, Squall finally shattered the Galbadian's gunblade, cutting him down as well.

They were through the doorway and into a hallway now, the space too constrained for him to employ his gunblade to much effect. It hindered his opponents as well, reducing the numbers that could face him at once to just two. Easy enough for him to manage. The bullets that flew at him and Rinoa however were of a more immediate concern, and he spared a glance at her from the corner of his eye, worried. She appeared unhurt however, and he felt the touch of her magic again as she recast the protection spells which had worn off long since.

_Very good,_ he thought. _Good job keeping on top of things, Rin._ She really was the best partner in battle he'd had, SeeD or not. He hoped he'd told her that, he knew how her confidence ebbed when things got really sticky. She seemed perfectly confident right now however, and resolved to take care of his end so as to keep it bolstered.

But it was a grim, dirty, exhausting fight to get to the command center itself.

Squall cut down the two soldiers guarding the door, the final obstacle between him and his objective, and burst through with Rinoa right beside him. The result was electric; the colonel, whom Squall could clearly see crouched behind an overturned desk, his aides and all of the subordinates that were in the room, likewise under cover, opened fire immediately.

Bullets ricocheted off the floors, walls and metal filing cabinets, chewing up the entranceway that Squall and Rinoa had come through. But not touching _them_. The newly refreshed protect spells had effectively turned them aside. Squall paused for a moment, scanning the room, taking in the sophisticated electronics that had been employed in the running of the base and the staging of the battle. Large screens showing a map of Galbadia, of Timber, and a schematic of the base itself occupied the whole of the far wall. Rank upon rank of desks with phones, computers, and other bits of equipment not immediately identifiable took up the remainder of the room; some of it tumbled over to serve as cover to the individual crouching behind it.

Lights flashed on the screens while an alarm's klaxon rang, something that Squall had only just become aware of, so focused was he on his assault upon the base.

He thought briefly about calling out, giving them the opportunity to surrender, but their aggressive action suggested that they'd rather die first. That was fine by him; certainly it didn't take away from his original plan at any rate.

Flicking a glance over to Rinoa, he spoke to her for the first time since they started the assault on the command center. His silence was in fact something she'd gotten used to, but for anyone that went up against him, it was more than a little unnerving.

"Summon Siren. Make sure they can't cast any battle magic," Squall said softly.

"Right," Rinoa said and did as he'd directed. Squall used the momentary pause to study the room and plan his attack. Obviously, he'd be going for the colonel. _Cut the head off the snake…_ but he'd likely have to go through his defenders first. So, once Siren had been called and her Silent Melody spell was cast, Squall singled out his first target and attacked without any further warning.

* * *

"Is that it?" Zone asked Zell as they crouched out of sight behind the reeking, burned out shell of a transport truck. It had been burning just moments ago; Zell had quenched the fire with the simple expedient of a blizzaga spell. It still steamed and popped, and gave off an acrid stench and some residual heat, but it offered them cover and a good view of what was indeed a functional tank. The one that they'd been looking for, the one that had apparently been firing off rounds at random.

"Looks like it," Zell answered.

"So, how do we take it out?" Zone asked him. "We don't have enough grenades for that, and nothing short of an anti-tank shell's gonna do anything anyway."

Zell glanced over at him and then turned his attention to his gloves, tightening them and flexing his fingers. Shaking his arms out and rotating his head, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Cover my back. I'll handle this." He said.

Zone frowned and his jaw dropped open to ask Zell what he meant by that but the SeeD had already whirled and sprinted in a zigzagging pattern toward the tank.

_You've got to be kidding me! Is he REALLY gonna…?_ Zone shook his head as he slapped another clip from his dwindling supply into his rifle, cocked it and scanned the area for anyone that might try to take a shot at Zell while he went to do…. whatever it was he planned to do.

The turret on the tank swiveled, and Zone felt the ball of ice in his guts return, turning his knees to water. He began glancing around for cover as the thing continued to rotate with a metallic, clanking noise. He didn't know if whoever was operating the tank could see him or not, but the fact was the gun was starting to move toward his general direction and Zone didn't like it. Not one bit.

"Zell, buddy, if you're going to do something, you'd better make it quick," Zone muttered under his breath.

He watched in growing shock as Zell reached the tank in seconds, _I didn't know he was THAT fast…_ and leaped heedlessly onto it. Someone…Zone didn't actually see them at first until he caught the muzzle flash… started shooting at Zell and Zone immediately returned fire, hoping he got the guy. When the shooting stopped he figured he had.

What happened next had Zone doubting his sanity. Or at least his vision. Because there was no way on _earth_ that Zell should have been able to pound the tank into wreckage with just his fists. _No way_. Yes, Zell was strong, _unbelievably_ strong…. but _this_ …should _not_ have been possible.

And yet, Zone watched frozen in disbelief as Zell did exactly that. Blows rang like sledgehammers against the armored metal of the hulking machine, smoke started to bellow out of the engine as he concentrated his kicks and strikes there. The turret continued to turn however, and Zone began to wonder if Zell was perhaps concentrating _too_ much energy on pummeling the armor when he really should have been doing something about the guy _inside_ of it.

More smoke began to leak from the tank's engine, and the turret began to hesitate and stutter in its movements. The big gun however, could still move up and down, as the operator tried to sight it on…something. A metallic screech sliced through the chugging and clanking of the tank's failing engine as Zell, muscles in his arms and chest bulging impressively, wrested open the hatch that led to the tank's cockpit and flung it back, all but ripping it off its hinges. Then he disappeared inside.

Zone waited in tense silence, wondering what would happen next. Zell's fighting skills were beyond compare, so if it came down to a one on one fight, he'd win, hands down. Zone knew this for a fact. But this was in a confined space, against who knew how many adversaries, who were very likely armed with more than just their fists. And Zone didn't know if Zell had had time to renew the protection spells that he'd cast upon himself and Zone as proof against the bullets that had been flying around willy-nilly. In short, the outcome of _this_ battle was a far from foregone conclusion.

It occurred to him then that Zell _might_ just possibly require his help. He didn't know how _much_ help he'd be, but it was better than simply sitting around and waiting to see what happened.

So he started toward the tank, alert for any other attackers as he did. A movement from a nearby rooftop caught his attention and he fired off a few rounds at it, then dodged back under cover at the fusillade of bullets that erupted in response. Swearing under his breath, he took careful aim at the shooter, waited for his moment, and then squeezed the trigger. A form in Galbadian blue slumped over the edge of the rooftop and fell.

He continued on toward the tank, and had nearly reached it when Zell's spiky blond head, face so liberally smudged with dirt and charcoal, and spattered with blood, that it was virtually impossible to see the tattoo any longer, popped up from the top of the tank. Climbing out, he jumped down from the tank, with an almost casually unconcerned air. The only thing that belied that attitude was the blood that painted his shirt and vest and soaked his hands in crimson. That, and his tense, closed expression and somewhat battered appearance.

Gulping, Zone asked, "Are you…?"

"I'm fine," he answered shortly. "Let's go."

Without another word, he turned and loped off, leaving Zone to follow.

* * *

It was indeed sheer butchery, just as Squall had thought it would end with. He launched himself toward the first soldier who was bravely, vainly shooting bullets at him that Rinoa's magic turned aside. He leaped atop the desk with the fluid grace of an attacking lion, swinging his gunblade in a deadly arc at the man. His first stroke sheared the barrel off the man's rifle, the second took his head, then he was over the man's desk and launching toward the next in a heartbeat. A burst of lightning took care of a soldier that had decided to charge at Squall's back, and he fell, writhing and screaming in pain. Another hack and slash and yet one more target was eliminated.

The colonel was shouting orders, his voice tense with panic. His subordinates were doing their best but they were dreadfully overmatched; the Aura spell which bolstered Squall's power to such a frightening degree was still in effect. He'd pay for it later, he knew, it was mostly his own strength he was using up after all, but for right now it was serving its purpose.

In the back of his mind he could feel Bahamut's bloodlust still surging along with the strength the dragon lent him to augment his. The Guardian enjoyed fighting with Squall, for along with the memories that the GF absorbed came the emotional banquet that battle spiced it with. Bahamut had not had a feast such as _this_ in a long time.

One by one, the colonel's defenders fell, and again, it seemed as though Squall was caught up in a mindless berserker rage. Certainly the way he savagely carved his way through his opponents argued for it. But then, a young corporal, trembling and nearly weeping in fear, dropped his gun and raised his hands in surrender just as Squall's gunblade whistled toward his head.

"No! No please!" the boy cried, squeezing his eyes shut and cringing. Squall stopped his blade mid swing, then immediately pulled it back. Then in another fluid, almost graceful movement, his fist shot out and connected solidly with the young corporal's jaw, rocking his head back and knocking him unconscious.

As the young man slumped to the ground, Squall leaped up onto the desk and turned his attention to the colonel. He wondered if the man would surrender, fight, or run.

His answer came as the colonel barked at his two remaining subordinates, "Don't waste your ammo on him, he's got a spell that's deflecting the bullets! Meet him with the gunblade or try a status spell!"

One of the men grimly picked up a gunblade and stared at Squall, eyes bleak, "Can't use the para-magic. It's been blocked somehow."

Squall turned his head from one side to the other, meeting the eyes of first one, then the other of the colonel's defenders. One on his right, and the other on his left. Both had risen to their feet and bravely faced him with their gunblades at guard. Then he finally looked into the colonel's eyes.

If the man had made any move to surrender whatsoever, Squall might have spared him. Maybe. Same with the two remaining officers…. but they didn't.

Instead, they exchanged a speaking glance and attacked him simultaneously.

Squall felt a brief moment of contempt at this; he had the high ground, despite the disadvantage in numbers. In light of this, it was foolish indeed for the two soldiers to attack him while he stood on the desk between them.

It was a simple matter for him to launch himself into a somersault over their heads to land firmly on his feet behind them, then decapitate them both with a lightning quick slash to the right and to the left. As their bodies collapsed, the sound of running feet behind him prompted Squall to whirl and meet the colonel's gunblade.

For a space of several heartbeats, the only sound was the metallic clash of their blades, the panting grunts of their efforts. Sparks flew from the blows, the adamantine of Lion Heart akin to flint in its reaction to striking steel. Squall drove the colonel back with blow after blow, slipping his blade in to score on the man's forearm, parrying a couple of attacks easily, then finding another opening for a slash at the man's midriff.

The colonel groaned in pain but kept on fighting. His blows grew weaker and his blocks less effective, and Squall saw his opportunity to end the fight once and for all. A vicious cut as he met the colonel's next blow sent a shock up the man's arm, numbing it and loosening his grip before Squall's wrenching twist ripped the gunblade from the colonel's hands and sent it flying. Squall followed through, whirling back around so that Lion Heart's razor-sharp edge cleaved through the colonel's neck.

Continuing with his spin, Squall ended up with his back to the colonel…. whose body fell to the floor with two separate thumps, one louder than the other. He stood still for a moment and simply breathed, then started walking away from his erstwhile enemy, his gaze seeking and finding Rinoa.

As he did, the Aura spell wore off, as did the adrenaline, and Squall suddenly dropped to his knees, driving the point of Lion Heart into the floor to hold himself upright. He simply knelt there for a moment, panting, dizzy, vision blurring in and out. It was only Bahamut's support that helped him to stave off unconsciousness.

"Squall!" Rinoa gasped and ran to his side. Kneeling down in front of him, she took his face in her hands, gazing anxiously into his eyes. He was so spattered and streaked with blood, it was impossible to tell if he'd been injured or not. Protection spells were effective enough against bullets, but _gunblades_ …. _they_ could still kill.

He focused on her with difficulty and murmured, "I'm fine…just tired."

She smiled slightly at him and commented, "Aura really takes it out of you, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," he breathed.

"C'mon. I think we're done here," she said, moving around to his side and sliding her arm around his waist, intending to help him get to his feet and offer what little support she could.

Squall hesitated, conscious of how dirty, blood and sweat-soaked he was. Exhaustion bore down upon him like iron weights, making it an effort for him to even hold his head up much less muster the power to rise to his feet, with or without Rinoa's help. The sound of running feet however offered him the impetus to try.

Gritting his teeth, he dug LionHeart's point into the gray and charcoal patterned industrial carpet and gripped the handle with all the remaining strength he had. Taking a deep breath, he levered himself upright, with Rinoa providing a good deal more help than he'd thought her capable of. He kept his arm around her as he stood, swaying, and faced whatever enemy may next attack, twisting himself so that the point of his blade and his body stood between her and whatever threat was in the offing.

He raised LionHeart, and his lips twisted into a tight grimace as he saw its tip wavering from his trembling arm. He was just about to ask Rinoa to cast a healing spell on him to counteract his fatigue, when the source of the running feet burst into the room.

"Squall! Rinoa!" Zell called out as he bounded into the room. Then he stopped, gazing around with interest at the carnage.

Zone had been right on his heels and nearly ran into him with a short curse and an exclaimed, "Zell! C'mon man, don't just stop like that! Give me a little warning, will you?"

"Dude! You alright?" Zell asked sharply, ignoring Zone for the moment.

Frowning, Zone stepped around him just in time to see Squall droop visibly, the tip of his gunblade descending slowly toward the floor as though he hadn't the strength to hold it up any longer. He was swaying and spattered alarmingly with blood, and Rinoa was glued to his side and partially shielded by him, doing her best to hold him upright.

"I'm fine," Squall said faintly. "Just really, really…t…." the gunblade thunked to the carpet, and Squall started to follow it, despite Rinoa's efforts to hold onto him. Zell immediately leaped to his side and bore him up as he faded into complete unconsciousness.

" _Is_ he okay?" Zone asked Rinoa pointedly. She didn't appear to be overly alarmed, so he figured that the blood that soaked the SeeDs clothing wasn't his. Little wonder that he _was_ so drenched, the sheer butchery that Squall had single-handedly wrought was nothing short of terrifying. Rinoa too, for that matter, the marks of her sorcery upon her victims was as easy to distinguish as the marks left behind by Squall's gunblade.

"Yes, he's fine, just exhausted. He used himself up to finish this. He just needs rest." She answered calmly.

" _Are_ we finished?" Zone asked, directing the question equally to Zell and Rinoa.

"Yes," Rinoa answered firmly. "The base commander and most of his command staff are dead. We've taken the base." Gesturing with her head toward the wall screens and the banks of computers and other technological paraphernalia, she added, "I'm sure there's a PA system over there somewhere. Go ahead and announce it."

Zone's heart started pounding, hard enough to leap from his chest. _Is it really over?_ He wondered. Had they actually won Timber's freedom?

Taking a deep, shaking breath, he asked, "What should I say? I mean…" He gestured helplessly, suddenly, unreasonably scared. He'd been the leader of an organization that operated in the shadows, had done so for years. Now suddenly it had accomplished its aims and was ready to come out into the light.

"Announce that Timber's resistance has taken the base. That the command staff is dead. Call for the remaining soldiers to lay down their arms and surrender or die." Zell instructed him firmly. Then he added, "Then send another message to whoever is in charge in Galbadia, telling them that as of today, Timber is free."

Zone swallowed, nodding. He wished fervently that Watts was there; it didn't seem right to announce to everyone that they'd won, that Timber was no longer under Galbadia's rule, without him. He hoped that his friend was okay and uninjured.

More running feet had him cocking his rifle and whirling toward the doorway, heart in his mouth. It was Watts and Selphie, followed by Kestrel and a few other resistance members. Relief made his knees suddenly go weak and for a moment, Zone thought he'd collapse just as Squall had.

Then it was all confusion as everyone caught each other up, as briefly as possible, on the situation in general and with themselves in particular. The unconscious corporal, the lone survivor of Squall's rampage, woke up in the midst of this and was promptly taken prisoner, with one of the resistance members keeping him under guard while everything else was sorted out.

Zell and Rinoa unobtrusively took themselves off somewhere with Squall, presumably to find a quiet, safe place to lay him down so he could finally, fully rest.

"They're still fighting out there," Watts reminded him finally. "Let's put an end to it."

Zone agreed whole-heartedly and strode toward the banks of random controls that may or may not have had anything to do with the large screens, looking for something, _anything_ , that might have something to do with a PA system. After cautiously poking around a bit, he finally gave up in frustration and asked the young corporal.

Kneeling down in front of the young man, who really didn't appear to be much older than he was, Zone asked him, "How do you activate the public address system here so I can call for an end to the fighting?"

The prisoner hesitated, then finally sighed and answered, "It's over there," He gestured with his chin.

Zone followed his gaze and frowned. All he could see there was what looked like a black wand on a base of some sort. It looked like a penholder for an oversized pen.

"I don't see it," he said, turning back to the young corporal.

"Its black, and it looks like a wand. The switch is on the base." The prisoner insisted.

Still frowning, Zone walked over and inspected the thing, finding the switch. Turning it on, he cocked his head, listening, but didn't really hear anything that convinced him that it was what he'd thought. No feedback at least.

"Hello? Testing….testing.." Zone spoke hesitantly into it, listening intently as he did. Upon hearing his voice echoing eerily throughout the compound, he heaved a sigh of mingled apprehension and relief.

Taking a deep breath, Zone said, "Attention please. This is Zone, the leader of the Timber resistance. We've taken the command center, and the Colonel is dead. Lay down your arms and surrender, or you will die. As of this moment, you are our prisoners." He paused a moment, biting his lip, then turned the mic on again, adding, "And as of this moment, Timber is free."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! almost done! still a bit more to go though.. this was just a battle, remember, NOT the war itself. So just sit tight and lets see how the rest of the tale plays out. Remember, we still have to have GALBADIA'S, AND General Caraway's response to the rebels' audacity. So, yeah...more to come..


	27. The Art of War

She watched him while he slept, unwilling to take her eyes from him. Exhaustion begged her to lie down beside him and curl up into his warmth, but she couldn't. Not yet. Not with the smell of the blood soaking his clothes still teasing the nausea in her guts. It wasn't a matter of cleanliness…not entirely, at any rate. Nor was it from a need to check him over, as he lay unconscious and vulnerable.

At this point she was reasonably certain that he was in fact uninjured; she'd have seen fresh blood on him long since. But she wanted, no, she _needed_ to feel his solid warmth beneath her hands. See his smooth, nearly flawless skin laid bare, smell _his_ scent, not the scent of those he'd killed.

She wanted to smell _anything_ on him but blood.

Carefully, slowly, she started at his feet, removing his boots first and setting them aside, then his socks. Next came his belts, likewise removed with care and lain aside, close to hand. She'd already wiped off Lion Heart but hadn't presumed to do more than that, and laid it atop the belts. His pants, filthy and spattered with blood, followed. Some of the blood had soaked through to his shorts, so they too were removed.

Despite the fact that she was undressing her lover, there was nothing of lust in her actions; instead it was more a clinical process, a nurse undressing an unconscious patient.

He hadn't worn his jacket, fortunately, just a white t-shirt. It had fared the worst out of all of his clothing, being so soaked with blood that Rinoa didn't think it would ever be white again. She carefully worked the still sopping garment, only just starting to stiffen from the embedded gore, up his torso, pausing to pull one and then the other arm through before finally pulling it off over his head, leaving Squall completely bare.

He woke briefly as she did, mumbling a complaint, but subsided as she whispered assurance to him and kissed him gently. He drifted back into slumber as she wrung out the washcloth she'd brought into the bowl of warm water, and started sponging off the blood that streaked his pale skin.

As she did, she kept contact with him, reassuring herself of his warmth, of the pulse in his wrist as she lifted his hand to clean off his bruised and abraded knuckles. She had to; it was too easy to visualize herself as a lady, a sorceress, washing the blood from a beloved knight dead in her service in preparation for burial. _Far_ too easy.

His eyes fluttered open when she sponged off his face, and he frowned slightly, his gaze still heavy with sleep and fatigue. He blinked and focused on her with difficulty.

"What're you doin'?" he asked her, his voice a slurred mumble.

"Cleaning you off. You can't have been comfortable sleeping in that mess." Rinoa informed him.

"Too tired to notice," he replied.

"Well, _I_ wasn't comfortable sleeping with it," Rinoa said. "So I decided to do something about it. Go ahead and go back to sleep, I'm almost done."

Squall frowned slightly at this, the exhaustion still pressing him into sleep warring with the desire to remain at least partially aware as Rinoa continued her ministrations. Part of him was soothed and comforted by the process, by the feel of her hands touching him, and the feeling of being cleansed. The other part was a little disturbed by the stark fact that he was so worn out that he was willing to submit to such a service rather than simply taking care of it himself.

Finally he sighed, giving himself up to it and closing his eyes, saying, "all right."

For a while he listened to her dipping and wringing out the cloth as she continued with her work. Then the sounds stopped and she got up and left his side, her light footsteps telling him that she'd probably taken the bowl of water somewhere to discard it. Their return included his body being covered by a soft, light blanket. A rustling sound followed, then Rinoa joined him beneath the blanket and cuddled close against him.

They lay together on the floor, on a soft carpet. Wherever they were it was quiet, and at least semi-private. Perhaps it was one of the offices that occupied the command post. It didn't matter that they didn't have a bed; at this point, Squall could have slept on a bed of nails without complaint.

Had he not been so tired, the feel of her bare skin against his would have awakened him to the desire for further activity of a more pleasurable sort. Unfortunately, exhaustion left him quiescent and somewhat disappointed as a result. The spirit was definitely willing, but the flesh…required rest. Still…

Rolling over to face her, he pulled her close against him. She likewise wrapped her arms around him and tucked her head beneath his chin, sighing. Caressing her hair gently, he placed a soft kiss upon her forehead and sighed deeply himself.

"I love you," he whispered, eyes still closed, sleep returning to claim him.

For some reason, Rinoa's eyes blurred at this and she whispered back, "I love you too."

She lay for a long time, just holding him, listening to his breath, and listening to the slow, methodical thud of his heart beneath her cheek. Breathing in his scent, now cleansed of the metallic tang of blood. Cocooned by the warmth of his embrace. Closing her eyes, she wept silently, never sure if it was from the relief of holding Squall close and knowing he was alive and unhurt, or if it was the fact that he had achieved what she and the Forest Owls had hired him to do.

Timber was free, and his contract was fulfilled. He would have to leave soon to go back to Balamb, to his job, and she had no real reason to follow him. Not anymore.

So she held him and she wept until exhaustion claimed her too.

* * *

Zone pulled a chair out at a console in the command center, sat down heavily and raked his fingers through his hair, sighing. _Gods, I'm so tired…_ He thought, gazing up at the video screens.

"We've got the prisoners secured." Zell reported.

Dropping his face into his hands, Zone groaned, "Great. Now what the hell do we do with them?"

"Use them as leverage against Galbadia." Zell said.

"What's the headcount?" Zone asked him.

"One hundred and fifty." Zell answered.

Zone groaned again, "And we've got to guard them, and feed them and…." He raised his head and met Zell's eyes, adding, "I was a little premature in assuming we'd won our freedom, wasn't I? This is only the beginning."

Zell crouched down in front of Zone in order to better meet his gaze, and said, "yes, but it's a good one. You accomplished your objective and made a declaration. You, all of you resistance guys, you've proved that you're serious."

Zone swallowed down a little thrill of fear at this, and said, "And now we get to deal with Galbadia's response. The entire might of the Galbadian Army. Against us."

"It's the same army we just defeated today." Zell told him. "Same equipment. Same training. Same personnel."

"But more of them." Zone said.

Zell nodded, "Yes. But now that we've won the base, I can almost guarantee that those resistance groups that were still holding out will join you. Besides that, think of this: Galbadia's just barely starting to put everything back together after their entire government collapsed. I'm sure General Caraway's got way bigger things to worry about than holding onto Timber."

"I doubt Caraway's going to just let this slide." Zone replied.

"No, I'm pretty sure he won't. But with everything else happening, you _might_ just be able to get him to recognize your independence and get a non-aggression treaty signed in return for the POW's." Zell said.

"You sound awfully optimistic about it. Fact is, you don't know enough about him to predict anything." Zone challenged.

"Not really, no," Zell admitted. _But I know who does…_

"So he may just decide to roll in here with everything he's got and crush us with a single blow." Zone said grimly.

"There's always that possibility," Zell admitted. "But if you think about it logically, it doesn't make much sense when he's only just gained control of the country. He's going to be busy consolidating his power base and rebuilding. He obviously doesn't have complete control over the army yet or this wouldn't even have happened. We might just be able to convince him to take this as a loss since he's got more important things to worry about."

Zone was about to respond, still not convinced that they had even the slimmest chance of prevailing if General Caraway took it into his head to make a real fight of it, but was interrupted by one of Shrike's kinsmen bringing him a status report.

"Fires in the north quadrant are out. No damage to the officer's barracks or the mess hall. Lobo's taken charge of that, says he'll probably have chow up in about an hour." The man reported. Hefting a pair of backpacks, he added, "Peregrine found these outside. Says they belong to the commander and your princess."

"She isn't mine," Zone murmured. _She never was,_ he thought to himself.

The man frowned slightly in confusion, then asked, "Where are they? I was told to give these to them."

"They're both asleep," Zell answered. "Squall exhausted himself doing….this." He waved his hand at the still gory scene in the command center. They'd had to secure the prisoners first and put out the fires. They hadn't gotten around to dealing with the casualties beyond a rough sort of triage for those still living. Selphie in fact had virtually exhausted herself casting cure spell after cure spell to stabilize the most critical of those injured.

Rinoa was much better at handling that sort of thing, mainly because she was a much stronger magic user. That and the fact that she didn't have to use any stored healing spells; her own magic was more than sufficient. But she'd fought just as hard as Squall had, and if she hadn't collapsed the way he had, it was only because she was holding him up…or _trying_ to. She had earned her rest, just as Squall had.

Putting his hand out to take the packs, Zell finally told the man, "I'll make sure these get to them." The man nodded and handed them over.

After the man had left, Zone asked, "Where'd you take them anyway?"

"Rinoa and I put Squall in the Colonel's office. It was closest. And it had a really nice, plush carpet." Zell answered.

Zone nodded, then scratched at his hair, grimacing at the grit he could feel in it. He was dirty, tired, hungry….and felt as though he'd been fighting forever. He'd checked his watch moments earlier and had felt a mild shock at the time. Somehow, he felt it should be the wee hours of the morning instead of just shy of dusk. Granted, they'd gotten the attack underway-just moments past dawn. But it had _felt_ as though they'd been fighting for longer than just eight or so hours.

Suddenly, he wanted a hot shower in the worst way. His clothes, soaked with Rowan's blood, clung to him like a sticky, clammy shroud, just starting to dry and crack, making his skin crawl. Maybe if he could manage a shower and clean clothes, he could also manage dinner as well.

First things first however… "According to Shrike's messenger, the officer's barracks were undamaged, right?" He asked Zell.

"Right," Zell nodded.

"I'm assuming that includes the showers as well." Zone said.

Zell shrugged, "Probably. Thinking about taking one?"

"I could use one. Desperately. Maybe I could scrounge up some clean clothes as well." Zone said, standing up and stretching.

"Shouldn't be too hard, as long as you don't mind Galbadian issued stuff." Zell said, standing as well.

Zone grimaced at that, "well, I guess I can live with the tee-shirt and BDU pants. Anything's better than _this_." He plucked at his shirt, and shuddered at the noise it made pulling away from his skin.

Zell nodded in agreement, not commenting further. They started toward the door together and parted company in the hallway, Zell heading toward the Colonel's office where he'd left Squall sleeping and Rinoa tending to him, Zone turning toward the exit leading from the command center and from there presumably, the officer's barracks.

* * *

Dreams of blood and fire woke him. He gulped air and lay still, heart pounding as he waited for the fine tremors along the surface of his skin to subside. Warmth along one side was identified as Angelo, stretched out with his back pressed against it, snoring slightly. A quiet sigh and movement along his other side, coupled with a hand moving to lie across his stomach, proved to be Rinoa. Still asleep, she had rolled onto her side against him and cuddled close.

Squall sighed deeply and closed his eyes, comforted by them both. The warmth of her body against his seemed to somehow seep into his mind and leach away the troubling images that had plagued him. He rolled over to face her, opening his eyes again to study her sleeping face in the dim light.

She still seemed to glow from within; though Squall thought it might be just a trick of the uncertain light, coupled with Rinoa's naturally light, nearly translucent skin. Dark lashes fanned her fair cheeks; a faint flush from sleep painted them a pretty rose. Her lips, softened and relaxed in sleep, invited a kiss, but Squall held off for the moment.

Sleep still pulled at him, but he resisted it for a moment to simply look at her, feel her body against his, hear her breathing and feel it brush across his skin like warm feathers. Leaning forward slightly he pressed his lips against her forehead, then against hers, just enough to get a hint of their flavor and texture. Pulling her close, he heaved a deep sigh and closed his eyes, drifting off into darkness, but still somehow feeling her there with him, a bright haven of comfort.

He sank back into the dark waters of sleep, guarded by the softly effulgent image of a raven-haired angel, soft wings wrapped gently around him.

When he woke again sometime later, she was gone, Angelo with her. Yawning he stretched and sat up with a grimace at the stiffened and sore muscles the battle had left him with. He scrubbed his hands over his face, scratching at the itch of stubble, and looked around for his clothes, which he discovered were missing.

His and Rinoa's backpacks however, sat side-by-side, just inside the doorway. His blood encrusted gunblade leaned against the wall next to his backpack. Squall stared at it, frowning.

He currently sat cross-legged in the middle of what appeared to be an office, upon a very plush carpet. Plush enough in fact that he'd slept comfortably upon it, aided of course by his utter exhaustion. He was also naked, a fact he was of course aware of, having been awakened while Rinoa was cleaning him up.

He yawned again and his frown deepened when he checked the time. He'd slept nearly a full twenty-four hours. Suddenly, belatedly, his body made several demands upon him all at once, its needs awakening quickly once Squall had opened his eyes. He was hungry, thirsty, had to use the bathroom and was absolutely _dying_ for a shower and clean clothes…. and he _desperately_ needed to clean Lion Heart.

The most pressing of those needs was a visit to the bathroom. Which meant that he'd have to get dressed or try to find one stark naked. He got up and went over to the packs, kneeling down to rummage through his for some clothing. It wasn't terribly clean, but it was better than what Rinoa had peeled off of him earlier. Not seeing those discarded garments upon glancing around the office, Squall suspected that she had simply tossed them. No matter. It wasn't as though he was attached to them, and it required careful handling to get blood out of clothing without ruining it.

More trouble than it was worth, to his way of thinking. And clothing could be replaced.

He emerged from the office and couldn't help a snort as he saw the name on the door: Col. N. Jakes. Nathan Jakes. The base's commander. He was sure he'd appreciate the irony at some point. Maybe after breakfast and if fate was kind, coffee.

After finally locating a bathroom and taking care of what he needed to do, Squall considered trying to see what could be done about getting a shower and possibly obtaining food. But the absence of Lion Heart at his side, leaving him feeling naked and exposed, sent him back to the office to clean it properly so he could bring it with him. Despite their having won the base, Squall still felt as though he was in enemy territory, and would _not_ go unarmed.

So he spent the next few minutes giving his gunblade a thorough cleaning, wondering as he did where Rinoa had gone. Perhaps she'd gone to find something to eat or to take Angelo outside. He frowned slightly as he worked, wishing she hadn't left. It would have been nice to wake with her in his arms; he'd gotten used to it now and felt bereft without her.

Once the gunblade was once again gleaming and honed, he put his cleaning kit away, holstered Lion Heart and left.

He found his way to the command center, observing a notable lack of bodies along the way. Blood still stained the carpets though, the thick smell of it starting to hint at decay. It was the same in the command post, though the eerie silence that had seemed to press in on him in the corridors did not hold sway there.

For one thing, it wasn't empty. The bodies had been taken away, to where Squall didn't know, but resistance members poking through the scattered papers and tapping away at keyboards now occupied the room. Everybody appeared to be busy with something, with the exception of Watts, who was leaning against a desk, looking bored.

"Bout time you woke up." He commented upon seeing Squall.

"Where's Rinoa?" Squall asked him, ignoring the comment.

"Went to get some food. Lobo's got the mess up and running. He's still serving breakfast. You should go get something, you've got to be starving by now." Watts answered.

Squall stomach chose that moment to growl loudly at the notion of food, reminding him that it had been better than half a day since he'd last eaten.

"I am. Could really use a shower too." Squall acknowledged, scratching at his still sparsely whiskered face with a grimace of distaste.

"Use the officer's quarters. The POW's are being housed in the enlisted men's barracks." Watts told him.

Squall nodded, saying, "looks like you guys have taken charge of this pretty well."

"Yeah," Watts replied, then added, "when you're done with all that, go talk to Zone. He'll bring you up to speed on the current situation."

"All right," Squall nodded. "Where would I find him?"

"Either the armory or the motor pool. He mentioned wanting to take stock of what was still useable there." Watts answered.

"All right." Squall said, turning to leave.

"See you later," Watts said to his departing back. Squall raised his hand in acknowledgment but didn't turn around.

First order of business, Squall decided, would be food. He was famished, and knew he wouldn't get anything else of worth accomplished until that particular need was addressed. Catching up with Rinoa there was an added incentive. It took a bit of doing to get himself directed to the Mess Hall, however. He wasn't completely familiar with the base's layout, despite having perused a map of it before launching the attack. And the results of that attack had altered its configuration considerably.

As he walked through the base, he observed a great deal of activity taking place; most of it along the lines of repairing and salvaging what could be put to use against Galbadia. He'd done rather more damage than he'd wanted to in summoning Bahamut, but had managed to _not_ destroy the base completely. It could still be occupied and used by the Timber resistance, and they apparently were doing exactly what he'd hoped they would do.

Clearly, yesterday's victory had galvanized the resistance into a flurry of feverish preparations….and an equally fervent influx of additional fighters. That was definitely heartening, not just for him but also for the Timber Owls and the rest of the crew who'd thrown in with them early on.

It was always good to begin a campaign with a victory. It set the tone for the battles to come, gave those involved in the struggle hope and the heart to see through the inevitable sacrifices, failures and losses that they would also experience before the war was over.

And it _would_ be a war. This was just the first battle, the opening salvo in Timber's challenge to Galbadia's authoritarian control. How long it would end up being and what Squall's ultimate involvement in it would be was anyone's guess. It all depended upon General Caraway's response. With luck, Caraway would have enough to occupy him that the loss of Timber would be of no consequence compared with the larger concern of rebuilding Galbadia's government. Or, the General would see Timber with its rich natural resources, and its development as a railway hub right smack in the center of the Galbadian continent, as a means to help repair Galbadia's fractured economy.

If that turned out to be the case, then they were in for a hard fight indeed. Nothing swelled the ranks of the military like a failed economy. Of course, the same thing could apply to an oppressed population finally seeing the possibility of freedom with its first taste of victory.

No. This would _not_ be an easy war to win, and its outcome was a _far_ from foregone conclusion for either side. Anyone who thought that was living in a dream world.

Firmly wrapped up in thought, Squall only sketchily acknowledged the greetings he received from the resistance members as he continued toward the Mess Hall. But he _did_ acknowledge them, something that, had he been paying closer attention, would have surprised him. Certainly those who'd gotten used to his somewhat taciturn and aloof nature were mildly surprised by the nod and wave he gave as he passed the busy work crews.

Upon entering the building containing the dining facilities for the entire base, Squall's mouth immediately began to water at the smell of food. It didn't matter if it was military rations or not, most of the base's provisions by this point were fresh, obtained from local farmsteads in the vicinity anyway. And apparently, Supply Sergeant Lobo had served more than one shift on KP in the past, and as a result was a passable cook.

Still, despite being desperately hungry, Squall paused for a moment just inside the Mess Hall and scanned it from ingrained habit. Subconsciously taking note of the occupants, the exits and the general _feel_ of the place, before heading toward the serving tables and picking up a tray.

"Thought for a moment we'd lost you boy. You disappeared for so long right after that fight yesterday, a lot of us thought something'd happened to you." Lobo commented when Squall approached him with tray in hand.

"Just exhausted myself." Squall replied as Lobo ladled that morning's breakfast onto his plate. Biscuits and gravy, with bacon and eggs. It looked wonderful and smelled great, though Squall was so hungry that didn't matter so long as it was edible.

"Little wonder. I saw what you and your girl left behind and couldn't believe it was done by just the two of you. Amazing." he said. Then indicating a large carafe at the end of the serving line, added, "there's coffee over there if you want it."

"Thanks," Squall said, and headed toward the coffee. Picking up a mug from the nearby rack, Squall filled it and sighed at the smell that wafted upward from the cup. Yup. Coffee…. and a decent brew at that. His respect for the former sergeant rose by several notches.

He found an empty table and sat down, also from ingrained habit; it wasn't in his nature to seek company or to try and fit himself in with anyone else's. If Rinoa had been there he'd have joined her, but he'd already noted her absence in his first scan of the dining hall. He'd missed her. By how long he didn't know, nor did he know where she'd gone to after eating. Neither Zell nor Selphie were there either. It didn't matter overmuch anyway. He preferred eating alone.

Still, he did miss Rinoa's yawning complaints about the lack of coffee or how early he'd awakened her.

Frowning fiercely at nothing, he dug into his breakfast, deciding to concentrate upon getting _himself_ sorted out first. Once he'd eaten and showered and gotten into a state where he was feeling a little more _human_ , he'd go looking for her.

* * *

"Is this the last one?" Rinoa asked, studying the unconscious young soldier.

"I think so. You may want to ask one of the doctors when you're done though, just in case." Selphie said.

"Okay." Rinoa replied.

"Right. Well, I'm off, I've got to check in with Zone to see if there's anything else he needs help with. If Squall rejoins the world of the living, let us know, willya? Zell and I need to report to him." Selphie said.

"All right," Rinoa gave Selphie a distracted nod as she concentrated upon gathering her magic, preparing to cast a healing spell upon the young man. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly while lightly stroking the man's brow, and let the magic flow into him, finding and repairing the damage done to his body.

His injury, a nearly fatal gunblade slash undoubtedly delivered by Squall, had been partially healed by Selphie, thus saving his life. But she'd only had a limited number of spells and so had only done the bare minimum needed to save those that were the most critically injured.

Rinoa was more than happy to do the rest. She'd caught up with Selphie after breakfast and had followed her to the infirmary, willingly helping out the staff there. While technically speaking, they were POW's; by tacit agreement they were allowed to continue their duties and were not interfered with. Indeed, Rinoa, Selphie and some of the other resistance fighters had joined in to help them, much to their surprise.

Most of the injuries that Rinoa saw in this particular section of the infirmary were burns, broken bones and gunshot wounds. Very few of them were gunblade injuries; this despite the fact that Squall had literally carved his way through quite a number of soldiers. Rinoa knew why; Squall's attacks were precisely targeted and almost instantly fatal.

This young man had been unusually lucky in that he'd somehow managed to block Squall's attack and avoid being decapitated. He had nearly been eviscerated by Squall's next attack however, and it was only the fact that it had been near the end of the battle and Squall's strength that he'd survived at all. It was a near thing however, and he still might have died had Selphie not found him when she did and had decided to help.

She'd needed something to do; Squall had been profoundly exhausted and she hadn't wanted to wake him, instead letting him sleep as long as he would. His continued unconsciousness however was starting to worry Rinoa a little. She'd only seen him in such a state once before; when she'd found him after Ultimecia's defeat.

Then she shook her head, snorting internally at her overly dramatic comparison. With more objective and less emotionally overwrought consideration, the two situations weren't nearly as similar as she'd thought. Squall had exhausted himself but he'd been very much alive when he'd collapsed. Still breathing, heart still beating strongly, just worn to a thread.

After Ultimecia however…that was a different story. He'd _actually_ been dead then. Cold and still. She couldn't have mistaken it, she'd checked. No heartbeat. No breathing. Somehow he'd come back. Rinoa still didn't know how. She only remembered holding him close and sobbing into the furred collar of his jacket, feeling as though her own heart had been ripped away. Perhaps in her grief she'd reached out and called him back. Maybe she'd spontaneously cast a Life spell. Her control over her magic at that point had still been a little precarious; it was entirely possible.

She'd never told anyone about the way she'd found him. By the time everyone had caught up to them, Squall was conscious and breathing, but still so weak he'd needed to be taken to the infirmary at Garden. He'd slept there under close observation, for nearly three days, on and off. But he'd survived.

He'd survived this too, and Rinoa was relieved. But that didn't ease her aching heart. She wondered, what next? When would he leave? What would _she_ do, once he had gone? Everything in her longed to follow him, wherever he would go. But the logical part of her mind ruthlessly squashed that romantic notion with a dose of cold reality. What would she _do_ in Garden? She wouldn't be a student; she _couldn't_ be a SeeD. On her own, she couldn't afford the tuition that Garden charged the affluent to educate their children; Garden _was_ after all a school, and a good one at that. But she'd rather go through Time Compression again than ask her father for _anything_ , much less _that_.

Then of course, there was the little matter of her being a sorceress, and SeeD's sworn enemy.

_He swore to be my knight. Freely. Knowing that it could pit him against every SeeD in Garden. And he meant it; I know he did, because I felt it. I felt the truth of it, and I felt the… bond…click into place. I FELT it._ Rinoa held onto that, sought for and found the tenuous thread that tied her to him. STILL just a thread but it was there, _she_ could feel it even if Squall was yet unaware of it.

It still didn't answer the questions of what would happen to them in the immediate future, but it did comfort her a bit to know she at least had that much of a connection with him. Perhaps, because of that tie, if they _were_ forced apart by circumstance, it wouldn't be for forever. She held fast to that hope, even as her fears and anxieties ate away at her.

But despite the temptation to follow that thread, their bond, to Squall's mind to check on him, Rinoa resisted. It was enough for her to feel that he was still there; she didn't need to touch his mind to sense his presence. So she made sure of her shields and went to ask one of the doctors in the infirmary if there was anything further that she could do to help.

"No, you and your friend have done well enough with the most critical of our patients. Thank you." The doctor answered, and Rinoa nodded and left, wondering how else she might occupy her time. Anything would do, so long as it kept her too busy to think, and worry, and miss Squall.

* * *

Squall tilted his face into the warm spray and let the water sluice down his body with an almost sensual delight. He had to acknowledge that he'd slept better after Rinoa had cleaned the blood from his body, and would shortly feel better still for having had a proper shower. The only thing he could think of that he wanted more was Rinoa herself, and he growled under his breath at the wayward thought. It was neither the time nor the place, and Rinoa wasn't anywhere near, so he ruthlessly squashed that idea.

Even if she _were_ there with him, he wouldn't have indulged himself; the showers weren't exactly private. There were men and women's showers in the officer's barracks, but they were mostly open affairs. Not much different really than the locker rooms at Balamb Garden. There _were_ a few individual shower stalls with plastic curtains for those who preferred a bit more privacy, but certainly nothing as private as Squall would have preferred if he had had Rinoa there with him.

So he concentrated upon lathering up his hair and body and rinsing it off, letting the warmth seep into him and ease away the last of his aches. Just getting up and moving around had done a great deal to work out the lingering stiffness; a nice hot shower did the rest.

Sighing deeply, he braced himself against the wall and let his head drop, eyes closed, while the hot spray pelted against the back of his neck and shoulders. Rolling his head slowly from one side to the other, he gently worked against the slight pull of tight muscles until they gradually relaxed. Finally finished, he shut the water off.

Pushing his wet hair back and wiping water off his face, he padded carefully on the wet tiles of the shower to pick up the towel he'd appropriated and started to dry off.

He'd just wrapped the towel around his waist and started toward the locker area when he heard a door open, then shut. Instantly alert, Squall quietly made his way toward the locker where he'd stashed his gunblade, along with the clean clothes he'd obtained from the Quartermaster's stores.

Before he made it there, he came face to face with Zone.

They simply stared at each other for a long moment. Zone had been working hard all day and had ended up sweaty, dirty and desperately needing a shower. Since the showers weren't used much during the day, he thought he might get lucky and have them to himself for a change. It had been a surprise to almost literally run into Squall there.

If there was anything more awkward than staring at Rinoa's nearly naked boyfriend, Zone couldn't think of it right at the moment. He also couldn't think of anything to say to either brazen his way out of that awkwardness or to break the tension he could sense underneath it.

Squall wouldn't, he knew that. Instead, the SeeD simply watched him, his entire attitude displaying a nearly feral watchfulness. Nope, he thought, recalling his earlier analysis of the SeeD's character. Not a dog. A lion. One that looked as though it was deciding whether or not to pounce. Zone didn't kid himself that he was safe either, just because Squall was currently naked save for a towel and unarmed. He'd seen Zell break a man's neck with his bare hands. While Squall didn't _quite_ have Zell's powerful physique, he didn't look like a pushover either.

He _was_ muscular, particularly in the chest and arms; not surprising, given the size of the weapon he wielded like it was a butterknife. But it wasn't the bunchy, powerful muscles that Zell had. Instead Squall was lean and lithe, muscles flat and hard; _almost_ skinny, Zone could clearly see his ribs, likely due to the hard work he'd put in lately on inadequate rations. But he could move as quick as a striking snake, and breaking a man's neck was more a matter of leverage than brute strength…. or so Zell had told him during one of their training sessions….and had proved gruesomely in battle.

And, the thought just occurred to Zone, the towel itself could be employed as a weapon; whipped into a thick coil of wet terrycloth and around his neck to strangle him… he shook himself out of that grim vision. They weren't friends, likely would never be friends, not with Rinoa between them. But they _were_ allies and Squall was too much of a professional to turn on an ally while still on the job.

Then he noticed the scars and without thinking, said, "I thought Cure spells healed without scarring."

Squall blinked, taken off guard by the comment, then responded, "They do. But Regen is slower, so it does leave scars behind sometimes. They usually fade after a few days." Apparently deciding correctly that Zone was not a threat despite his current disadvantage, he turned away and continued toward his locker.

Curiosity piqued, Zone followed, asking, "So all those scars you're wearing now, you got them just yesterday?"

"Most of them." Squall confirmed.

"What about the one on your face? That one's permanent. Why? How'd you get it?" Zone asked him.

Squall flicked him an irritated glance, but answered tersely, "Training accident. My sparring partner got…overzealous."

"Ouch. But why'd they leave it to scar you like that? Why not just cast a healing spell or give you a potion to heal it. Why just leave it?" Zone asked him, frowning.

"It was a stupid mistake, one that didn't deserve a potion or cure spell to be wasted on it." Squall answered flatly, opening his locker and nonchalantly dropping his towel to dress.

"So it's a reminder then." Zone stated, trying to avert his eyes without appearing uncomfortable. It was impolite to stare, he kept telling himself…and Squall's inadequacies, _or lack thereof_ , were none of his business.

"Yes."

"Who was the training partner, the guy that gave you that scar, anyway?" Zone asked him curiously. With an inner shrug he opened the nearest locker. Slowly, he began to undress, telling himself firmly to stop drawing comparisons….

"Seifer Almasy."

Startled, Zone glanced over at Squall, mildly relieved to note that the latter had gotten on a pair of BDU's that he'd likely gleaned from the base's stores.

" _Seifer?_ " Zone asked, surprised.

"Yes," Squall answered in a flat monotone that said clearly that he wanted no more conversation on the matter. Zone took the hint and left the subject, obviously a sore one, alone.

He placed his folded towel on the bench and continued undressing while Squall pulled on a clean white tee shirt and raked his fingers through his still-damp hair. Zone steeled himself and dropped his pants, hoping he appeared more nonchalant than he actually felt.

To cover his discomfort he commented, "I saw Rinoa with Selphie in the infirmary earlier today. She might still be there."

"I'll catch up with her." Squall said, buckling on his belts and his gunblade. "Meet me in the command center when you're done here."

"Have you talked to Watts?" Zone asked, forgetting to be embarrassed about his _own_ perceived shortcomings.

Squall nodded, "No response yet from Deling City, though we have to assume they got the message since the internal intercom system and the PA system works fine."

"Oh. I'd say no news is good news but…"Zone began with a frown, and Squall finished, "it may _not_ be, in this case."

"Right."

"Don't worry. I'll watch the comms for a bit. I need to check in with Garden anyway. I need to give them a status update." Squall said. He sat down on the bench in front of the locker briefly to put on his boots.

"Ah, well then…" Zone said, turning toward the showers. "I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Right." Squall replied, turning away and leaving Zone to his shower.

Zone glanced back once after Squall left, then turned on the water and ducked under the spray.

* * *

He felt much better for the shower. He'd even managed to scrounge up a razor. The comb he'd dug out of his backpack; he still winced at the snarls he'd had to tease out of his hair. At least the thick, still damp strands were out of his face now. The day was warm however and his hair dried fairly quickly as he made his way toward the infirmary.

He wondered if Zone had thought to set up sentries yet, and filed that question in the back of his mind to bring up to him later on. Another question that he intended to ask was how much of the base's equipment and ordinance was salvageable.

He figured most of the ordinance was, after all that had been one of their main objectives in attacking the base. The equipment however…he figured about half was useable. Selphie had managed an admirable amount of destruction to the battlewagons and tanks, and even the troop transports and trucks had suffered a significant amount of collateral damage.

But not _all_ of it was wrecked beyond repair. Squall hoped that enough survived to be useful to them when and if Galbadia woke up and decided to take an interest in the goings-on in Timber.

He made it to the infirmary, still mulling over supplies, equipment and strategies, oblivious to the wary and in some cases, even fearful looks that he got as he walked in, looking around for Rinoa. Fortunately, she found him before things got too tense, though it was a near thing, particularly with respect to the panic-stricken expression of the young gunblader who'd nearly met his end at Squall's hand.

She calmed him with a gentle touch and a weak sleep spell; his injuries were healed but he still needed rest before transport to the barracks where the rest of the POW's were being held. Then she quickly crossed over to Squall's side and took his arm, leading him out of the infirmary.

"Zone said you were here," Squall said as she led him into the hallway.

"I needed to do something and I didn't want to disturb your rest, you really needed it." Rinoa explained as they walked. She really had no actual destination in mind beyond the vague idea of getting out of the building. Still, she was glad she'd decided to come back to the infirmary. She wondered if, even though she wasn't actively using the bond to find him, it would still draw her to him, whether she willed it or not….

She filed that thought in the back of her mind for further consideration at a later time.

"Yeah," Squall agreed, then added softly. "I missed you."

Rinoa paused and glanced up at him. He'd showered, she noticed. He'd shaved as well, the dark, still sparse stubble thankfully gone from his cheeks and chin. He hated it even more than she did, so she wasn't surprised to see that he'd gotten rid of it at his first opportunity. He'd gotten a clean white tee shirt from the Quartermaster's stores, apparently, along with a pair of dark brown military-styled pants, known as BDU's. It was quite a different look from his normal black leather or dark blue or black jeans. It suited him, she found.

Suddenly, desire slammed into her, leaving her aching for him. The confused roller coaster of emotions she'd been holding at bay since the battle started suddenly began battering at the firm lid she'd kept on them. It was such a maelstrom that she didn't even know _what_ it was that she was feeling beyond the overwhelming urge to fling herself at him and merge with him, body and soul. A clinical part of her mind told her it was perfectly normal, SeeDs did it all the time after a close brush with death. And the battle they'd won through certainly counted. What was somewhat surprising to her was the fact that _Squall_ hadn't already dragged her off somewhere to have his way with her; then she remembered that he tended to have a good bit more control over himself than she did.

Not this time. Not if she could help it.

Suddenly she recalled a certain storeroom that had been employed by infirmary staff for…recreational purposes…. in the past. It was an open secret that was whispered about and carefully _not_ acknowledged by those in charge, so long as things remained discreet and work wasn't interfered with. Rinoa had only learned about it by accident, nearly catching a couple in the act while looking for some gauze. Fortunately, she'd heard them before opening the door, and had tiptoed away, face burning.

Taking his hand, she led him toward it, ignoring his puzzled "Rinoa?"

She hoped the room wasn't occupied, and she tried to remember if there was some sort of signal that was placed on the doorknob or something as a hint. All she could think about was Squall's lips searing hers, his hands roaming her body, his skin warming hers… the wanting had just about become a physical ache.

They turned a corner into a short hall that had the door to the storeroom set into the right hand wall.

She had just reached for the doorknob when Squall asked her, "What are you doing?"

"Uh…" she glanced up, mind completely blank of any sort of plausible explanation, wondering as she did how completely insane this might appear to him. She needn't have worried. His keen gaze studied her for a moment; a slight smile starting to quirk at the corners of his mouth as understanding dawned in his eyes. He cocked his head for a moment as though listening to something, and Rinoa felt her mouth go dry, worried that the room was indeed occupied and that Squall's keen hearing had detected the occupants.

Eyes glinting mischief, he reached for the doorknob himself and turned it, jerking the door open to reveal a perfectly ordinary, and unoccupied, storage room. Rinoa gasped in reaction and Squall's smile grew wider.

"I don't believe we have any need to inventory supplies here," Squall commented, one eyebrow quirked upward.

Without a word, Rinoa marched inside, hand still gripping Squall's. She would have dragged him inside, had there been any resistance. There wasn't.

He reached up and pulled the cord that turned on the small, bare light bulb that lit the stuffy little room while Rinoa shut and locked the door.

When she turned around, she found she didn't need to explain anything at all.

His arms immediately slipped around her and pulled her close, head dipping down to kiss her as she was reaching up to meet it, lips tongues and bodies fusing.

"So," he murmured softly, trailing his lips lightly up her neck and making her shiver. "What do you need in here?"

"You," Rinoa whispered huskily, voice catching in her throat. "Just you."

"Same here." He replied, sealing his lips over hers in another searing kiss.

He gasped when her fingers brushed his belly as she unbuckled his belts, and moaned softly when her hands slipped beneath his shirt to caress his chest as she pushed it upward and helped him to remove it. She sighed, then moaned as well when he did the same, removing her bra and bending down to take a nipple into his mouth while fondling and teasing the other. She let her head fall back and her eyes close in ecstasy, tangling her fingers in his soft, silky and still slightly damp hair, letting him do as he would, letting the pleasure wash over her and take her away with it.

She felt his hard urgency pressing against her, sensed his desire, as hungry and aching as her own, and thought her heart would burst if she didn't have him, right _now_ …. So thinking, her hands went immediately to the fastenings of his trousers, undoing them and slipping inside to grip and fondle, making him shudder and groan.

"Gods, Rinoa," he moaned. "Oh, Gods. You're killing me…" He stopped her hand, gripping the wrist strongly while taking one, two, three deep breaths in an effort to settle down. Then he took control again.

Her shorts were stripped off and tossed away in the next instant, and she sagged against the door, trying to remember how to breathe as Squall, who had sunk to his knees while drawing her shorts down her legs, slowly worked his way upward. Slowly, and maddeningly, kissing and nipping his way up the increasingly sensitive skin of her inner thighs. His large hands stroked upward along the outside, coming to rest upon her hips, supporting her when her knees threatened to give way when he nuzzled at her center.

"Who's killing who?" she gasped, hands bunched into fists and pressed against the door. Squall's intimate assault continued and in very short order she found it hard to think in more than fragmented bursts. Then even that ability left her, as he delicately pushed her over the brink with a deft flick of his tongue and his clever fingers, pressing and stroking her just so…

Her knees buckled and she swayed, prompting Squall to rise gracefully to his feet, hands stroking up from her hips, to her waist and around her back, pulling her close against his warm, satiny skin, kissing her deeply and allowing her time to catch her breath before he continued. He supported her while her senses continued to swim with the heat of his hands on her skin, the taste and scent of her own body on his lips.

She wondered vaguely how they'd manage their final joining…and wondered no more when he tightened his hands upon her hips and lifted her, pressing her back against the door. He held her there, fingers digging into her backside, while he sought and found her waiting heat. She gasped, then moaned and arched her back, wrapping her legs tightly around him to pull him in, as he eased himself into her body and they were one flesh once again.

That first moment of sweet invasion always sent a thrill of pleasure through her as her body adjusted. Next came the warm feeling of completion, of finally feeling whole again. Tiny details became sharper and more immediate; their bodies, pressed so closely together that she could feel as well as hear the pounding thud of his heartbeat, feel his breath brushing hotly over the sensitive skin of her neck, cheek, and finally lips. Tasting his kiss, when he sealed his lips over hers as he started to move within her. Breathing in his musky male scent as it mingled with hers, with the scent of their lovemaking…

Then everything blurred into…something else…. as she wrapped her arms around him and speared her fingers through his hair, holding on for dear life as Squall's movements became more forceful. Her eyes drifted shut and she gave herself up to the sensations that washed over her, biting her lip to avoid making _too_ much noise. She couldn't help moaning softly in her throat though, as she fought for breath while her heart thudded as heavily as Squall's was.

Sweat dewed them both as they heated up the stifling little room, the tension building stroke by stroke, Squall relentlessly driving them both toward its final release. He was hard and rough and urgent this time, obviously as caught up in their elemental passion as she was. Rinoa bit back a gasping cry and dug her nails into his back and scalp as he pushed her over the brink, triggering a rush of warmth, of _power_ , along with the waves of pleasure that threatened to drown her. A guttural sound, half moan and half growl, caused Rinoa's eyes to spring open and watch Squall's go unfocused as he reached his own climax with a final, hard thrust.

He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers, breathing raggedly and leaning heavily into her body, pinning her against the door. Rinoa could feel the tiny tremors in his muscles that followed his orgasm, along with the heavy, pulsing thud of his heartbeat against and within her. She could also sense the flow of energy, of magic, that her climax had released and had gifted to him. She had no idea what that meant or what it would do to them both or to their bond, but she suspected that it was a means of strengthening it.

She filed that in the back of her mind to ask Edea about later, preferring to remain in the moment and absorb all that she could of it.

"I think we killed each other," Squall finally said, answering her question. Rinoa laughed breathlessly at this. She hadn't actually expected an answer, knowing by now that Squall focused wholly upon their lovemaking, rather than verbalizing… anything.

Rather than talk about what they did and didn't like as they learned each other's bodies and preferences, Squall simply _paid attention_. He watched her expressions and her body language, listened to her breathing and the sounds she made, and was finely tuned to her responses. A rank amateur he'd started out as, but one that was apparently a quick study in the finer points of lovemaking.

She stroked her fingers through his hair, now dampened with sweat, and smiled tenderly at him, saying softly, "I don't think so. I feel very much alive, don't you?"

Squall's own smile came out of hiding like the sun emerging from the clouds, and he replied, "Yes. I do." He pressed a gentle kiss against her lips and withdrew, holding her steady as she settled back onto her now virtually boneless legs.

She leaned against him for a moment longer, arms locked around his waist, cheek resting against his chest, and sighed, "Gods, I needed this…" She hoped he didn't ask her why, she didn't think that she could explain it.

"Me too." he breathed softly into her hair, kissing it gently and continuing to hold her.

They reluctantly separated when Rinoa finally felt steadier, and got dressed. Squall was looking around the little room with a small smirk on his face, which made Rinoa wonder what he had on his mind.

When she asked he shrugged and answered, "I was just thinking that you finally managed to drag me into a supply closet to have your way with me." He picked up his gunblade and started buckling it on.

"Your fault you know. You clean up so nicely I can't keep my hands off you." Rinoa retorted with a grin. Squall laughed softly, ducking his head to try to hide the faint blush that painted his cheeks and tips of his ears a lovely rose. Rinoa found that endlessly endearing, but forbore to comment on it, sparing him embarrassment. He tended not to react well to that sort of thing.

Once they were dressed and more or less presentable, she unlocked and opened the door, breathing a sigh of relief to find that the little alcove outside was unoccupied. They both walked out of the infirmary as though nothing untoward had occurred, though Rinoa at least found it hard not to grin stupidly as she recalled their brief, passionate interlude.

Squall of course was his usual, coolly poised self, though there was warmth in his eyes when he glanced at her, rather than ice.

By mutual agreement, they were headed toward the command center, where Selphie had taken Angelo when the head doctor forbade the dog's entrance into the infirmary. She'd instructed Selphie to put the dog under Watts' charge. They needed to go there anyway, both to get an update on the current situation from Zone and for Squall to file a status report with Garden.

They'd gotten about halfway there when the PA system crackled to life, "Squall, Rinoa, Zell, Selphie, please come to the command center. Urgent!" Squall and Rinoa exchanged a startled glance, and raced for the building.

When they made it, the reason for the urgent summons was tensely revealed by Zone.

"We just got a response from Deling City." He swallowed and licked his dry lips and continued, "they're on their way."

Rinoa gasped, "The army? They're coming? Are you sure?"

Zone nodded, "I'm certain of it. It was General Caraway. He's leading the army himself."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Made it! Finally managed a post on Squall's birthday! GO ME! (well, i managed it on FFnet anyway..don't judge!) So. Long chapter, but it sets up the next one. I worry sometimes that I'm letting this drag on too long but i can't rush to the ending, it wouldn't come out right if I did that. Just like one of my drawings, I have to take my time and work at it detail by detail, line by line. it seems an insurmountable task if one looks at the whole from the start, but if you just add in little details here and there, erase things that don't belong, and focus on things that do, the end result ... well it can approach a masterpiece. Maybe not in comparison with someone truly great like say Leonardo Da Vinci or something, but ...MY masterpiece, produced with all the skill and talent that I have to work with. nothing as lofty as say a literary award or worldwide acclaim in my talents as an artist or a writer... it would be NICE, no denying that...but i would have to stop mucking about doing fanart and fanfics to produce something that the world as a whole MIGHT consider worthwhile. Maybe. And I may yet. Once an Idea has seized me by the throat it can be very hard to shake. But for the time being, I rather like being a little fish in a rather small, cozy little pond with all my fellow fanfic-fishes.
> 
> meanwhile, I've got more than enough creative projects to occupy my spare time. WAY more..


	28. Collateral Damage

"Tell me again how this happened? How a ragtag group of rebels led by a teenager was able to overrun and nearly destroy the Timber Base?" General Caraway demanded of the officer who delivered the message that Zone had sent that afternoon.

"Sir," the officer swallowed, attempting to answer. "The…the details of what happened are…unavailable. Sir."

Caraway growled something very uncomplimentary under his breath concerning the G-Army's current chain of command… _or lack thereof._ The question to the junior officer had been a rhetorical one, meant more as an expression of his frustration than anything. He already knew the answer.

_This happened because the fucking army is in complete disarray, that's why. Because nobody is talking to anybody else and are following their own agendas._ Caraway thought grimly as he followed the young man to his office, momentarily abandoning the _other_ disasters that demanded his immediate attention.

For a moment, a brief, fleeting moment, Caraway wondered why the hell he'd taken on the monumentally daunting task of dragging Deling City…and Galbadia…out of the almost total chaos that had reigned a mere month or so ago. He swore he _felt_ his hair turning gray; certainly there appeared to be far more of the telltale silver strands amongst the otherwise inky black than he recalled seeing even the day before.

He had hoped that he'd have had more time before dealing with external matters concerning Galbadia as a whole. He'd only just gotten control of the city, and his hold over the army, despite being part of the senior staff prior to the president's demise, was a tenuous one. Or perhaps, it was _because_ of it, though Caraway hadn't been very high up in the chain of command back then, despite having been a General.

Fully half of the chiefs of staff he couldn't trust. Indeed, just about all of the senior officers were suspect, particularly those who'd enjoyed President Deling's favor, and had benefited most from his regard. In fact, Galbadia's army was still in as much a state of chaos as the entire country had been, and was weak and directionless as a result.

And somehow, information about that weakness had been disseminated to the Timber Resistance, and they had, surprisingly, acted upon it. Or, the general thought, recalling the grim-faced young SeeD that Rinoa had managed to hire, perhaps _not_ so surprising after all. Caraway didn't know whether to be impressed or appalled that Rinoa had somehow managed to pull off such a masterful coup.

_No. NOT Rinoa. She was always full of wild ideas and flights of fancy but there is no way she had the skill to pull this off. No, it was the SeeD she hired. SeeDs,_ Caraway thought, correcting himself. There had been _three_ of them. None older than his daughter and fresh out of the academy; green and untried….and obviously far better trained than he thought.

The sheer audacity of the action, taking full (and impressive) advantage of an obvious weakness and securing the base, hinted at either incredible luck or brilliant strategy. Perhaps a bit of both.

But it was all speculation until he could get a full and complete report, or at least as much of one as was possible, of the battle and the current situation.

It was with a certain grim satisfaction that General Caraway read the varied expressions of consternation and dread that the senior staffers were wearing as he met them in his office and curtly gestured for them all to follow him to a conference room. He made a mental note to pay attention to the incompetents; at his first opportunity, some heads were going to roll….figuratively speaking.

Once everyone was assembled and seated, the General asked the group at large, "Who was in command of the Timber Base?"

"Colonel Nathan Jakes, sir." One of the officers answered.

"And do we know his fate?" Caraway asked.

"We have not been able to ascertain that sir." Came the answer.

"What _do_ we know?" General Caraway demanded.

There was a pause as the gathered officers glanced about uneasily. Finally a junior staffer cleared his throat and answered, "At around 15:00 hours, an incoming message from the Timber Garrison was received and recorded. The individual leaving the message identified himself as the leader of the Timber Resistance and announced that the resistance had taken the base and that they now had control of it. He then went on to declare that Timber was now free of Galbadian rule."

"What was the name of this person? Did he leave it?" Caraway asked.

"He gave his name only as Zone."

Caraway paused thoughtfully. He remembered the name from some recent reports of resistance activity in Timber. Rinoa had frequently been seen in his company. Up until recently, the group that the young man had headed, The Forest Owls, had been as ineffectual as the rest of the resistance factions in Timber. Obviously, things had changed.

"Well," Caraway said coolly. "It's good to know that communications to the outlying areas have been restored."

"We need to respond to this…. blatant challenge!" A senior officer burst out. Pompous and overstuffed, he was one of Deling's cronies, one that had benefited greatly from Timber's subjugation. Caraway suspected the man's rank was earned more by sucking up to the late Vinzer Deling than by any great military prowess. Definitely one for the chopping block, Caraway mused privately, and for a moment wasn't sure he actually meant it _figuratively_.

"Of course, General Kashain. Anything to protect your stake in Timber's rail and logging industry," another man said snidely. Dry and wry, Major-General Darvin had been one of those who'd sided, cautiously, with Caraway. The wizened, wiry little man reminded the General of an old cavalry officer, and Caraway strongly suspected the man still had an old campaign saddle from ages past, when soldiers rode chocobos instead of driving jeeps and trucks.

"Not just mine! Everyone's!" General Kashain protested, dramatically waving a pudgy hand around to include those present. "You can't tell me that the resources that Timber had didn't help our economy? How access to their rail hub vastly improved shipping and trade?"

"No, and I won't try to. But by the same token, anything we'd gained by invading and taking control of Timber was negated by the cost of _keeping_ it. Constant military presence, lives lost on both sides as the result of resistance activity, ill-will and lack of productivity in general in those industries that Timber is best known for….Quite honestly, Timber's invasion was done more for Deling's vanity and as a distraction from what he was doing _here_. There was very little sound tactical reasoning behind it, from where I stood." General Caraway said.

"With almost twenty years of hindsight, I can't say that you're wrong General Caraway," President Deling's, and now Caraway's, Chief of Staff, Ronald Stagg said.

"What do you propose we do then, Caraway?" General Kashain asked with a sneer, deliberately omitting General Caraway's rank. "Roll over and give up? _Us_? These rebels are amateurs! They just got lucky. I say we roll out the 52nd Armored Division and _crush them_!"

Caraway didn't bother hiding his contempt at that suggestion, lips tightening at General Kashain's insult while at the same time, taking note of which among those present nodded or otherwise appeared to agree with him.

"Certainly, General Kashain, since scorched earth tactics worked so well the _last_ time." Major-General Darvin said sarcastically. "We had to rebuild half the damn country before any benefit at all could be realized from taking it! Which by the way wasn't nearly as beneficial as everyone seemed to think it would be going in. Timber's been little more than a very large pain in the ass; what with the constant unrest, vandalism and outright terrorism that just about every resistance member, which by the way is nearly the entire country, engages in."

"They're so busy trying to get rid of us they do very little else," someone commented.

"Exactly." General Caraway said. Scanning the assemblage, Caraway speared them all with his best steely glare, which had set more than one junior officer to quaking in his boots. With the exception of the young SeeD Rinoa had hired, that look had been highly effective in getting his point across. Green and untried he might have been at their first meeting; it was obvious that the boy wasn't a coward.

"As little as I like to agree with General Kashain, this attack _is_ a definite challenge, a show of defiance. They've thrown down the gauntlet and are expecting _some_ kind of response." The Chief of Staff said. "The question is how _should_ we respond? Should we roll in with everything we've got in a show of force and retake the base, and Timber? Should we instead acknowledge that they've accomplished their aim and driven us out? Will it be a ratification of their claim of independence and a peace accord with them or will it be all out war? _And_ …." The Chief of Staff leaned forward, impressing his point upon the assemblage with his stony black gaze and granite gray, short-cropped hair. "Here's something I doubt you old warbirds even considered; can we as a nation, with the precarious situation that we've found ourselves in, even _afford_ an all out war? Can we spare the personnel, the resources, and most of all, the _gil_ , for this? I think not."

"Neither do I," Caraway agreed.

"My 52nd Armored is sitting idle since you ordered them out of Deling City proper. They aren't needed to guard our borders as no one is threatening us there. The riots have stopped and the city is almost back to normal. I seriously doubt that you'll need much more than the 52nd and half a battalion to deal with these rebels and regain control of Timber." General Kashain said contemptuously. "If _you_ won't deal with this the way it should be dealt with, Caraway, then _I_ will!"

Fury Caraway glared at the man, trying hard not to grind his teeth. The fool had outmaneuvered him and knew it. If he wanted to keep the tenuous accord he'd managed to forge between all the gathered men there, each of whom had their own schemes and adherents, and each of whom had nearly plunged Galbadia into a civil war while pursuing those schemes, he could not show any weakness. Backing down from this particular challenge would do him no favors.

The fractured government of Galbadia was still in the process of being put back together, and this was just one more roadblock to slow down or even halt that progress. Through some quirk of fate, Caraway had been the one able to pull everything together and slowly, painfully, begin returning Deling City and Galbadia back to normal. It had not been easy, not with fools like General Kashain fighting him every step of the way. Even with the country literally crumbling around their ears, their only goal was to seize whatever profit could be found in it. Had they possessed lower rank or held less political weight, they might have been called looters. Thieves. But then, they _had_ been high up in President Deling's former government. So calling them _thieves_ was redundant.

Finally Caraway said coldly, "before we commit ourselves to rash, ill-considered action, why don't we try to get more information on the situation first? Since communications outside of Deling City have now been restored, a fact that I would have been very glad to have been apprised of as soon as it came to pass, we can simply call up the base and speak to whomever is now in charge there."

Turning to the young man that had led him to the meeting, Caraway asked, "How long ago was this message received?"

The young officer swallowed and answered, "It was received…at mid-afternoon."

General Caraway's fists clenched, unseen from beneath the conference table, as he fought to keep control of himself. He took a deep breath, then another, following a reminder given him by his aide that morning. Sound advice that had been instrumental in helping keep a handle on things. He never knew his mother's reasoning for naming him _Fury_ , but it had been ironically prophetic, at least with regard to his temperament.

_Anger clouds reason,_ he thought to himself. _Only a fool lets emotion dictate action._

The true irony in this was the fact that very few were aware of how dangerous his temper could be. But rather than bury it and simply let it seethe, he used it to fuel his efforts to wrest control of Galbadia from the factional forces tearing it apart and by sheer force of will, begin the work of restoring it.

Relegated to the background for most of his military career, he'd still managed to distinguish himself enough to achieve the rank of General, despite his dislike of President Deling and the way he ran Galbadia. He'd walked a fine line, following his orders while never letting his true feelings about the man issuing them show. Never sucking up, never currying favor; simply doing his job and following his orders, however distasteful they might have been.

It had been a surprise to both General Caraway and to General Kashain when Vinzer Deling had dropped the responsibility for taking Timber squarely into Caraway's lap. He had privately thought Deling's reasoning was that Caraway, little known, little liked, and while a General, not one that had a great battle record behind him; would fail in the attempt, thus giving President Deling an excuse to be rid of him. Caraway, deducing this, had refused. Deling then pulled the trump card Caraway had been unaware that he'd held over _all_ of his staff, supporters and opponents alike; _do it or your family will suffer_.

The threat was more than implied. More than one person who'd opposed Deling had shortly thereafter suffered a personal tragedy… a spouse or child suddenly meeting with an unfortunate, often fatal accident. Deling's hirelings excelled in "making things look like an accident". Like the night he lost Julia…

Rinoa never knew that Caraway's part in the Timber invasion had been entirely unwilling. She only saw him as the monster that'd led the war and started the miseries that the country now suffered.

And he had to do it again. Only this time, his daughter was right in the thick of it. He told himself she'd made her choice when she'd run away to join the resistance. He told himself that even as his heart protested that she was still his little girl, she was only seventeen and he'd very likely end up killing her in the process of retaking Timber. He found himself fervently hoping, deep down, that the SeeD she'd hired _had_ in fact grown into his role and was as good a bodyguard as he'd heard SeeDs could be.

He prayed that the boy could protect Rinoa, before locking it away along with his worries and fears, and resuming his guise of General Fury Caraway. Once that cold, calculating persona was restored, he stood and braced his hands on the conference table, leaning upon it and spearing each person gathered with a dark, stony glare. Putting all the force of his considerable will behind it, impressing upon them all who it was that had managed to end up on top of the melee after President Deling had been killed and chaos had reigned.

He _liked_ that they had all underestimated him.

"The first thing that I'm going to do is to contact the Timber Garrison and speak with whoever is in charge there and see what I can learn. Then we can plan our next course of action," Caraway said. "Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I'm going to do just that."

"Your next order will be to deploy the 52nd. And I will be leading it." General Kashain stated boldly.

"Do you intend to fund them from your own pocket general? Do you _really_ want to get into a discussion of just how badly President Deling damaged our economy? Because right now, I seriously doubt the National Treasury has enough gil in it to pay your tailor, much less your soldiers." General Caraway snapped. "Right now, _sir_ , I have an important call to make. In private. You are all dismissed."

General Caraway turned on his heel and left the room and the resounding silence that echoed behind him.

"You know they'll press the issue," James, his aide, said quietly as he followed Caraway out of the room.

"Then the Treasury Minister is the first of those dolts that has to go if he agrees." Caraway growled under his breath in reply.

"With respect sir, it won't be a matter of money, but a matter of pride. There are many in the general citizenry who would feel insulted by the audacity of the Timber Rebels and feel justified in wiping them out. They won't be thinking about the costs in hard gil." His aide said.

"Fools." Caraway grumbled.

"I agree sir, but so far you're in charge largely because these fools support you." James said.

Caraway glanced over at his aide and nodded. He was aware of that. He had managed to win most of the army to his support, but the most senior of the officers and chiefs of staff were evenly split between him and General Kashain. Rather than spend the blood of his soldiers as profligately as General Kashain seemed willing to do, General Caraway worked out a compromise with the man instead.

It had been a hard-won victory, but Caraway had in the end convinced General Kashain that they'd serve Galbadia better by working together to restore it, rather than engaging in a bloody civil war over what Vinzer Deling had left behind. In part, it was the weight of the general population that had, for some inexplicable reason, come down on Caraway's side of the fence, which had swayed General Kashain. It did not mean however that the man was at _all_ altruistic. It merely meant that Caraway had managed to prove to him that there was more profit in restoring Galbadia rather than destroying it in a grab for power.

They reached the main comm center, led there by the junior officer that had delivered the belated message. Dismissing the young man with a glance, Caraway punched in the code for the Timber Garrison's main commlink. He thought briefly of trying Colonel Jakes' private line but decided against it. Jakes was likely dead, and if not, then _definitely_ not available.

He glanced back at his aide, James, who retired to a discreet distance while Caraway waited for his call to be acknowledged. As he did he wondered if there was ultimately even a point in doing so. He would have to lead the army to Timber regardless; General Kashain had him there. Whether it would be in retaliation for the attack or simply to investigate the occurrence depended entirely upon what he learned from this call.

"Hello?" A male voice answered cautiously.

"This is General Fury Caraway, commander- in –chief of the Galbadian army, and acting leader of Galbadia. Am I speaking with the individual who calls himself 'Zone'?" Caraway formally addressed the speaker.

There was silence for several heartbeats, then the voice answered, "No. I'm…I'm not him. Gimme a sec and I'll get him," the speaker sounded young, and Caraway had detected a slight tremble in his voice; the boy had obviously been caught off guard.

More silence, this time for several minutes. Eventually, noises on the other end of the commlink led Caraway to believe that the other party was arriving.

Finally, a voice said, "General Caraway?"

"Yes," Caraway acknowledged. "Are you Zone?"

"I am." He answered. He sounded as young as the first speaker, but his voice was steady, and held more assurance.

"Then you know why I'm calling you." Caraway stated.

"Actually, no I don't." Zone responded, surprising Caraway. "I know what I said in the message that I left, and that should have been sufficient to advise you of the current situation. If you wish, I can reiterate: the Timber Resistance has gained control of the base, and are now declaring Timber free and independent of Galbadian rule."

Caraway considered this for a moment, then said conversationally, "What if Galbadia doesn't agree with your declaration?"

"Then we will fight until it does." Zone answered firmly.

"I see." Caraway replied. He _did_ see. Rinoa may have gone to Timber to help them out of some sense of guilt due to his part in the invasion, but she was an outsider, come lately to the conflict. This young man had _lived_ it, had suffered under Galbadian occupation his entire life, and his voice held a conviction that only someone who had endured that would have.

Then he frowned, recalling the intelligence reports he'd read about the adolescent leader of the Forest Owls, trying to reconcile the cowardly weakling they had painted him as with the completely opposite reality.

Deciding to leave discussion of whether or not to fight alone for the moment, Caraway took a different approach and asked, "Would you be willing to tell me the fates of the personnel on that base? How many casualties were there, and what is the status of the survivors?"

There was a pause, and then Zone answered, "I don't know all the numbers yet. I've got people tallying it up right now. We're still figuring out how many graves to dig."

Zone's matter of fact answer was chilling, and Caraway suggested, "it would be helpful if you could at least preserve their ID tags so that I could notify their families." Then he asked, "Are there any survivors?" _Surely there must be,_ Caraway thought. _They can't possibly have wiped out an entire garrison of eight hundred plus soldiers…_

"Yes. We currently have one hundred and fifty prisoners in the enlisted men's barracks. You want 'em back?" Zone asked.

For a moment General Caraway thought Zone was being cheeky, and his lips tightened as he bit back an angry reply. But the tone hadn't been sarcastic; rather, a simple question asked by someone who was clearly out of his depth.

So he tempered his answer and said in a level voice, "Yes. We would like the prisoners back. We would also like the identification of all of the soldiers who were killed." Taking a deep breath, Caraway added in a hard voice, "we also expect you and your cohorts to vacate the base and cease this silly posturing. It will gain you nothing but your own demise."

There was silence, then the young man replied quietly, "General, I have had a price on my head and have been under threat of execution since I was fourteen. I've already decided that if I'm going to die, I'm going to die for something. Make it count. So, threatening me, or anyone else here, with death isn't going to work. We already knew what it would cost us going in. And by the way, _sir_ , its not just the Forest Owls that you'll be fighting if you decide to make a war of it, but the entire population of Timber. We will _not_ stand down. We will be free, or we will be dead. Simple as that. Now, if you want to arrange a prisoner transfer, we will be happy to accommodate you."

"I would. I do however have some additional questions: Is the base commander, Colonel Nathan Jakes among the prisoners?" General Caraway asked.

"No. He's dead."

"I see. And is your leader, Rinoa Heartilly, available to speak with me?" He asked.

"Rinoa is no longer the leader of the Forest Owls. She turned that over to me in order to work with the SeeDs." Zone answered, then added, "and no, she's not able to speak with you just now. She's been helping out the base doctors here in the infirmary."

Caraway felt a surge of pride and admiration for his spirited daughter. They might not have gotten along…for far too long, to his way of thinking…but he could never fault her courage or compassion.

He cleared his throat and swallowed down the lump that had suddenly lodged there, then said calmly, "I see." He paused a moment to regain control of himself, then added, "Well, then all that's left is the prisoner exchange."

"We will need time to get the ID tags or otherwise identify the dead. The infirmary staff is volunteering to remain here to care for the wounded. Ambulatory wounded and uninjured prisoners will be turned over to you at your convenience at Timber's border." Zone said, then added emphatically, "You may _not_ cross over Timber's border. It will be considered an act of aggression and we will respond with deadly force."

Caraway frowned at this, wanting at first to scoff, then holding off at the calm confidence in the young man's voice. It would not do to take that warning lightly, particularly as there was not one, but _three_ SeeDs involved. And according to some sketchy, wildly improbable reports that were only just starting to filter into Deling City, just _one_ of those SeeDs was a force to be reckoned with.

Still, there _were_ only three…and Caraway had an entire army.

It never does to mock the enemy, particularly when negotiating for prisoners held in their custody, Caraway reminded himself. Though he did wonder how much of the boy's confidence came from sheer hubris. And how much was from desperation. From Caraway's standpoint, going by the little he knew, it appeared that Zone's options to resolve this situation were limited.

"Let us hope that it will not be necessary for you to do so, and that we can bring this action to a peaceful conclusion…to the benefit of all." The General said calmly.

"That is my hope as well, General," Zone replied.

General Caraway felt a cautious surge of hope. Perhaps the young man was beginning to see sense?

Finally Caraway responded, "If we can maintain a peaceful accord Zone, then the prisoner exchange will not be a problem. Likewise with any other negotiations that we may need to engage in."

"We shall see," Zone said coolly. "Hopefully your type of negotiation is a little more civil than your predecessor's was. Galbadia's history in relation to Timber does not inspire confidence in its integrity."

General Caraway felt a sudden, surprising surge of anger at the boy's almost insulting manner, and said, "In any event, expect me and my escorts to arrive at Timber's border in 3 days time. You have that long to get the ID's and prisoners ready."

There was a pause, then Zone, sounding puzzled, asked, "Escorts?"

"The 52nd armored division." General Caraway answered, then added, "you can't possibly be so naïve as to think that I'd come alone."

There was a long pause, long enough that the General began to wonder if he'd scared the kid. Granted, facing the 52nd was a daunting prospect to _anyone_ , so he wouldn't have been surprised if that was the case. Zone's response, when it came however, gave him a mild start of surprise.

"I see," Zone said, voice firm and tone resolute. "We'll be ready."

* * *

Three days. They had three days.

Three days to gather together the identification of as many of the deceased as possible. Three days to repair and put back into service as many of the tanks and armored vehicles as they could. Three days to rally the rest of Timber and the resistance, to arm, to prepare to….

To what? To start a war? Zone asked himself, then the answer unbidden, came back: _It was ALREADY started._ THEY were the ones who'd flung the gauntlet at Galbadia by attacking the garrison. Little wonder that they'd respond with a show of force; that was what Galbadia typically did.

Zone gave himself a moment to breathe and take a step back, away from the edge that the panic skittering under the surface of his mind was pushing him toward. The butterflies settled immediately and he blinked, realizing in a wild flash of clarity, that he'd just done something that he was sure that the SeeDs, Squall in particular, did in highly stressful situations.

He wondered if it was a learned technique or a conditioned reflex. Was there even a difference?

The question stayed in the back of his mind as he called for the SeeDs over the P.A. and advised them of Galbadia's… _General Caraway's_ … response.

The repairs and re-fortification of the garrison of necessity had to be put on hold while messengers were sent to rally the citizens, the remaining resistance holdouts…anyone who was willing and able to fight. Weapons were checked and handed out, as was ammunition. Troop transports, tanks and other vehicles were prepped for use, those that hadn't been damaged enough to be unusable.

At his direction, the entire base became a boiling hive of activity, all in preparation for what Zone _hoped_ would be a peaceful prisoner transfer in return for Galbadia's confirmation of Timber's claim of independence.

Zone had been all for simply transporting the prisoners to the pre-arranged (and carefully examined by Squall with an eye to defensibility) coordinates where they would hand them over to Caraway, with a minimal escort. He'd worried that bringing too many people and too much hardware would actually _invite_ an attack.

"That's only if Caraway _sees_ them," Squall had said flatly.

Then he outlined a battle plan that made Zone very glad that Squall was fighting on the side of the resistance. He had to admit at that point that there was a _definite_ advantage to having the SeeD Commander in your corner.

"Is everything ready?" He asked Squall as the third day dawned.

"As ready as it'll ever be," Squall answered.

Zone nodded and keyed the radio in the armored truck he was riding in, and ordered, "Let's move out everyone!"

The three of them rode together in the cab of the truck, with Zone driving, Rinoa in the center and Squall on the end, ready to leap out at a moment's notice. Zell was manning the .50 cal gun mounted to the top of the vehicle, while Selphie had gone with the twins and their clan to coordinate their end of any possible action that may take place.

The prisoners, under guard, followed in a series of armored troop transport trucks, each mounted with a .50 cal gun on top as well. The tanks, while agile for such large, armored conveyances, were still much slower than the trucks, and so had been sent ahead the previous day to set up at specific coordinates and wait.

Squall at this point knew better than to question the abilities of the resistance members with regard to camouflage, so had no worries that they wouldn't know how to hide the tanks from the advancing army. And he was pleasantly surprised with how easy the things were to operate, which definitely fell in their favor. Few members of the resistance had any military experience with the exception of Lobo, who'd been far more help in that regard than even _he_ thought he'd be.

The base originally had four battlewagons; all destroyed, and eight tanks. Two tanks were burned out and battered hulks, useless. The remainder had been salvageable, and they had put them into use immediately. Squall hoped that Lobo had managed to give their operators instruction on the niceties of _aiming_ the damn things.

Even that didn't actually matter much, so long as the shells were aimed toward Galbadia's probable position, and _away_ from Timber's troops.

As they trundled toward their destination, Squall felt a stirring in the back of his mind. Bahamut was waking up and taking an interest in proceedings. It … _he_ …didn't often, preferring to keep his contact with Squall's mind a light one until needed. He wondered if the Guardian simply slept until summoned. He thought perhaps not, because he'd feel the dragon's mind moving within his own on occasion, peering out at the world through his eyes.

_Do you fear us still, now that you're bonded to me?_ He asked mentally, recalling what Bahamut had said to him prior to the battle that won the dragon to his service.

_YES._ Came the immediate response.

_Why?_ He asked.

Bahamut's answer was a long time in coming, but finally the dragon replied, _because your lives are so short, you live intensely. Your passions burn higher and hotter than any other creature I've ever encountered, and they inflame my own to a frightening degree. And your capacity for violence far exceeds even my own. Your only limitation is your insignificant size and strength. Wielding my power as a weapon, you are a truly frightening creature, Master._

Squall frowned at this. Bahamut feared _him_?

_I know your mind Master. I do NOT fear YOU. Nor do I fear what YOU will do with my power, for I already know you possess wisdom beyond your years. But I am occasionally passed to another of your kind, and some of them lack the intelligence and wisdom that you have. These, I fear._ Bahamut clarified.

_You will tell me then, which of those you are unwilling to work with._ Squall said.

_I will._ The dragon said, and fell silent. Despite the creature's concerns, Squall could feel its eagerness for the prospect of battle. THAT was what the Guardian feared, the resurrection of its elemental instincts, replacing its sentience with violence.

Squall couldn't blame it.

A hand gripped his tightly and he glanced over a Rinoa. She smiled up at him, a slight tremor in her lips giving her nervousness away. He could feel the warmth in her grip even through his leather glove and he gently squeezed her hand back.

"Rinoa?" He asked her quietly.

"I'm fine," she assured him.

He gazed at her searchingly for a moment, and then nodded slightly, lapsing into silence again. Rinoa continued to hold his hand, drawing courage from his unwavering presence beside her.

"We're nearly there," Zone said unnecessarily. He _had_ to say something. The silence in the cab of the truck was becoming oppressive to him, though both Squall and Rinoa seemed comfortable enough just holding hands. It appeared as though despite the relatively short duration of their relationship, they'd already passed beyond the need for words to fill in the silences.

Zone wondered if he'd ever find anything even remotely close to that.

They arrived at the prearranged coordinates moments later, and Zone turned off the truck and unbuckled his seat belt, getting ready to exit the vehicle.

"Wait." Squall's voice stopped him as he reached for the door latch.

"What?" Zone asked.

"Just wait a minute. Rinoa and I are going to scout the area first. Radio in to the tanks and touch base with them, make sure they're ready for action, just in case we need them." Squall answered, opening his door and preparing to exit the transport truck.

"Let's hope we don't," Zone replied.

Squall nodded and jumped out of the vehicle. Rinoa scooted across the front seat of the truck and followed suit, taking Squall's proffered hand and leaning heavily upon his support as she leaped out of the truck.

"So now what?" Rinoa asked as Squall stalked a few paces away from the truck, scanning the area intently.

"Watch. And wait for them. Are you junctioned?" He asked her.

She hadn't really needed to junction a GF since gaining her sorceress powers, but as a fail-safe, she'd chosen to do so this time, so she answered, "Yes. I have Siren."

"Good choice. Best defensive GF there is." Squall replied.

Rinoa followed as he walked the area, satisfying himself that they'd gotten there _before_ the Galbadians and that there were no hidden surprises waiting for them.

Zone joined them, reporting, "Everyone's ready. The Raptors say that the convoy's on its way with an entire armored division."

Squall nodded slightly at this news. He'd figured as much, judging by what was said during Zone's conversation with General Caraway.

"Do you think they'll attack?" Rinoa asked, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Depends," Squall answered succinctly. Rinoa glanced at him, trying to read his expression, which betrayed very little of the tension she could sense within him. His only outward indication of it was the fact that he tended to get terse.

"On what?" Zone asked him.

"How badly we pissed them off." Squall answered.

Zone considered that, and then replied, "Well, hopefully they'll at least wait until they get their POW's back."

Rinoa nodded, and said softly, "They will."

Both young men studied her in silence, Zone with a slight frown, Squall with a typically blank expression, though his eyes were wary. A warning from Bahamut had him whipping around at the same time that Zell hailed them.

"Yo!" Zell shouted from his perch atop the transport truck. "I'm seein' dust! A LOT of it! Looks like they're comin' with some heavy hardware!"

"Go back to the truck and man the radio." Squall said, his attention focused on the only just apparent cloud of dust. Rinoa and Zone shared a puzzled look, unsure as to whom he'd been addressing.

"I'm not leaving you here…" Rinoa began. "I wasn't talking to you." Squall interrupted her. Rinoa snapped her mouth shut and frowned fiercely at him…or rather his back, as he was turned away from her at the moment.

"Wait, you want _me_ to go back to the truck?" Zone protested. "I'm not as useless as you seem to think I am! I can hold my own in a fight! I'm not some kind of…"

"Zell is covering our position with the 50 cal, on _top_ of the truck. Rinoa is my backup. I need her with me. I need _you_ to handle communications, not only with our people but also with Caraway's. Do you understand me or shall I use smaller words?" Squall snapped, turning the full force of his icy glare onto Zone, obviously not in the mood to deal with anyone's ego. Especially not Zone's.

Zone's blood boiled, and he matched Squall's glare for a moment but had to concede to the mercenary's logic. Damn him. It was always _logic_ with that bastard.

"Fine." He bit out, then turned on his heel and stalked back to the truck. He promised himself that when the war was over and Timber free, he was going to do his level best to take that damn SeeD apart.

Rinoa gazed after him with a frown, and sighed. Knowing what she did about Zone's feelings toward her, and by extension, Squall, Rinoa was fairly certain that they'd never get along. Still, thus far they'd managed to maintain a civil working relationship, though there was always a tense undercurrent between the two.

She returned her attention to Squall, who'd walked off a few meters, then stopped, gazing toward the increasing cloud of dust. He'd planted his feet shoulder width apart and had drawn Lion Heart, setting it point downwards in front of him with his hands resting on its handle. His entire attitude said "you shall not pass", and offered a blatant challenge to anyone who'd try.

It seemed laughable at first. One slender young man armed with a gunblade and backed up by a girl. Standing right in the path of a rumbling company of tanks.

Rinoa didn't understand at first why Squall had chosen that particular location or stance, though it was obviously done deliberately. Then she noticed the landmarks as she came up to stand beside him. He was standing on the border between Timber and Galbadia.

And as she stood shoulder to shoulder with him, she saw what she knew that the approaching soldiers would _not_ see until it was too late: an unearthly blue glow lighting his eyes, and a boiling bank of clouds dimming the afternoon sun overhead. He had not yet summoned Bahamut, but he was ready to, should it be necessary.

Glancing over at her then, Squall said in a cool, remote voice, "Invoke Angelwing now, before they get close enough to see her."

Rinoa swallowed, suddenly aware of how dry her mouth had become, and nodded, eyes flaring golden as she summoned her inner sorceress and donned the mantle of her power in a spreading flare of pure, white light. The light resolved itself into her angel's wings, which gradually faded into transparency. In short order, they had faded enough that they were virtually invisible unless one were standing very close and looking directly at them.

"Now what?" she asked him.

"We wait." He answered.

She felt them long before she saw them. A thrumming vibration shivered up from the ground through the soles of her feet, a distant rumbling and clanking accompanying it and growing louder by the moment. The vibration intensified to the point that it felt as though someone had cast Quake, and Rinoa was hard put to stand fast in the face of what was approaching them.

They would stop. They would _have_ to stop. It still took every ounce of Rinoa's will _not_ to turn and run as the rumbling machinery drew closer until the sound deafened her. She felt her power building in response to her anxiety and tried to master it, lest the emotion wrest her control away from her.

Squall didn't turn a hair. He simply watched, cool and remote as a statue as the company of tanks stopped ten meters from the border. All save one.

It continued forward as though bent upon running them both down and crossing into Timber, offering a challenge of its own. Squall stood still and resolute, but his eyes narrowed at the tank's approach, and Rinoa saw his grip tighten upon his gunblade, saw his body tense in anticipation of quick action.

The tank stopped. A mere meter from them. Less in fact, but it _did_ stop.

Rinoa let out a breath that she didn't realize that she was holding, and glanced over at Squall to see if he too had relaxed. But he hadn't.

He watched warily, the inner tension that Rinoa could sense without any difficulty still thrumming within him like a plucked string, though he appeared outwardly calm. She knew if he should choose to act, he could do so with lightning speed.

Distant thunder rumbled from the boiling clouds, but Bahamut had not yet been summoned; it was hard to tell if the threatening sky was due to the GF's pending approach or if it was a true, if freak, summer storm building up instead. Dust still drifted, hanging in the still air; _these_ clouds were not riding on the wind.

The army had come through the defile that separated Galbadia from Timber. Either a foolish move on Caraway's part, one showing his good faith by putting himself at the mercy of Timber's defenders and deliberately walking into a potential ambush, or one that flaunted Galbadia's military strength, showing that it feared nothing and would go where it wished. Until Caraway himself showed up, it was impossible to tell from the ranks of armored vehicles that faced them, which of those possibilities it was.

Squall _had_ in fact set up an ambush, with Timber's forces cunningly hidden in the thick forest that butted up against the defile and the sheer cliffs to either side of it. Their orders were simply to stand fast unless attacked.

The tank facing them was still idling, its rattling diesel engine virtually drowning out the approach of another vehicle, this one a jeep. At the same time, the door to the transport truck behind them, where Zone had presumably been utilizing the radio to communicate with General Caraway, opened and slammed shut. Zone appeared beside Rinoa just a few short minutes later, slightly winded from his haste.

Glancing up nervously at the tank, Zone commented, "He didn't look like he was going to stop."

"We'd have stopped him if he hadn't." Rinoa said firmly, surprising both young men.

The approaching jeep drew closer, its engine noise interrupting them before anything further could be said, pulling up and parking near the tank.

Zone started forward as the doors opened but Squall stopped him, eyes narrowed.

"Wait," He said. Zone glared at him but stood fast, belatedly realizing that putting himself within easy reach of the enemy before the prisoner exchange was accomplished was an unwise move.

So he folded his arms over his chest and planted his feet, watching as several uniformed men exited the jeep. As military types usually did, the heavily armed, brawny bodyguards got out first, eyes wary and guns cocked and ready. Once satisfied that their charges weren't in immediate danger of being attacked, they nodded and the other occupants of the vehicle got out.

He recognized General Caraway immediately. In full uniform and impeccably turned out, in spite of the dry, dusty conditions, he had obviously dressed to impress. And impress he did, his straight posture, steel gray hair and eyes, and mind-boggling array of medals cutting quite a figure. His gazed traveled over all of them, lingering on Rinoa just long enough to leave Zone wondering before it finally rested upon him.

"You would be Zone?" He asked. The other man with him, an aide of some sort it appeared, studied him as keenly as the general did. Zone didn't much care for the thought that he was being weighed and measured by the two men. And doubtless, coming up short of expectation.

"I am." Zone nodded.

"The prisoners?" Caraway asked him.

"They're coming now." Zone answered. He glanced briefly at Squall and Rinoa, wondering at their silence. They stood as still as statues, watchful and unnervingly quiet sentries. He almost felt abandoned by their nearly total withdrawal, but knew why they stood so apart from his meeting with the General. Or at least, _thought_ he did.

He hadn't missed the glow of power in Rinoa's eyes, or the ghostly shape of wings springing from her shoulders, barely visible in the bright afternoon light. Nor had he missed the look in Squall's eyes that portended mayhem of apocalyptic proportions, should such action be required.

Zone raised his hand in a prearranged signal to release the prisoners. Sounds from behind him indicated that they were being escorted from their transport trucks to the border where they would be repatriated with their comrades.

As they started crossing into Galbadian hands, Zone said firmly, "You asked, and I released these men to you. I didn't want to use them as a bargaining tool, though I was advised against doing this. What I DO want, is for you to take these men and all of your tanks and go back to Deling City. I want a non-aggression treaty between the Timber and Galbadia, and I want Timber's independence from Galbadian rule recognized and ratified."

"That's a tall order son," General Caraway began, glancing over at Squall and freezing suddenly at the icy glitter in the young SeeD's eyes. Surely they weren't _glowing_ …. were they?

"Can you honestly tell me that this isn't your call to make? Because I know for a fact that you're the one that ended up at the top of that heap of chaos that Vinzer Deling's death left behind. Do you really think that escalating this into an all out war with Timber is the best use of your resources?" Zone asked him.

"It's not that simple. Yes, I am in charge, but I'm trying to reestablish the representative government that Galbadia had before Deling somehow managed to get himself elected president for life. That means I have to try, as best I can, to get all of those representatives of other interests to agree with me. I'm NOT a dictator, nor do I want to be one. My word is _not_ law." General Caraway answered.

"Then concentrate on that and leave us the hell alone!" Zone shot back, frustrated.

"Zone, we need to discus this in a more formal venue, and maybe we can come to an agreement that will be beneficial to us both. I'm not interested in wasting resources in a war that could be better used on the home front either." Caraway said.

Zone stared at him, frowning, and asked, "Are you telling me that you intend to withdraw?"

"For the time being, yes. Until a time and a place can be arranged for you and your representatives to meet with us to work on this in a more diplomatic manner." Caraway answered.

"I thought we _were_ being diplomatic…" Zone commented.

Caraway almost smiled at the boy's naiveté, saying, "well, on one level maybe, but what you're asking would require a bit more work than just a handshake, don't you agree?"

"Fine then," Zone said. He was about to add to it, noting as he did that the prisoners had all finally been returned to Galbadia, but a sudden explosion of chaos interrupted his train of thought.

Squall, suddenly screaming, "INCOMING! TAKE COVER!" followed almost immediately by a series of deafening explosions as the convoy of trucks that Zone had used to bring the prisoners in exploded, one by one.

Zone dove to the ground and covered his head, while Caraway's aide grabbed him and dragged him back to the jeep. The man was screaming something, but the ringing in his ears made it difficult to make out. It had almost sounded as though the man was calling Rinoa's name.

Then it was all confusion and fear, and the litany _Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!_ Looping through Zone's mind as his ears rang and the ground trembled under him. He closed his eyes and waited, trying not to think of Zell, who'd been atop the truck that he'd just seen blown to smithereens, the other people with the other trucks, friends of his, who'd likely met the same fate- blown to bits or burnt to cinders. And he was helpless against the onslaught. All he could do was duck and cover and hope to hell he made it through in one piece.

Sound and sense eventually began to penetrate the cotton wool that the close range explosion had stuffed into Zone's ears, and he peeked cautiously upward, noting that the boiling clouds overhead had turned pitch black and webbed with lightning. The dragon was coming. That prospect filled Zone with more dread than exhilaration.

A strong hand gripping his shoulder made him cry out and nearly jump out of his skin, and he threw a panicked glance upward to stare uncomprehendingly at Zell's filthy, soot-smudged but otherwise very much alive, unburned and annoyed-looking visage.

"C'mon! We gotta get to cover! Into the trees man!" he yelled. Zone nodded and started to get up, slowly, still gathering his scattered wits. Zell however was in no mood to wait for that, and grabbed Zone's hand and hauled him to his feet, then shoved him toward the trees. When he didn't put on enough speed to satisfy the SeeD, Zell simply grabbed his arm and dragged him along behind him as he sprinted toward the forest.


	29. Endgame

Bahamut's alert came just a heartbeat before the shell hit. Squall only had time to scream out a warning, which Zell thankfully heard, before everything exploded. Zone dove to the ground while Rinoa immediately threw up a shield over the three of them. Squall had barely half a second to marvel at the speed with which she cast the spell before he sprang into action.

The obvious, first thing he had to do was to disable the damn tank that was right in front of them. Bahamut would be too much for such a close range attack, so he summoned the dragon, intending to send him at the tanks that had started to advance, continuing to fire.

Rinoa leaped to the side as the tank facing them began to move, but Squall did not. Instead, the moment he heard the idling engine change, indicating the operator had put it into gear, he ran backward several steps, to give himself room.

Then he ran at the tank and leaped upward, precisely gauging the sweep of the gun turret's rotation. As it moved away from him he hit the track, just as it was starting to move, and pushed upward to the top where the access hatch was. Locked down tight of course, from the inside.

Crouched on top of the tank, he called down to Rinoa, "Cast Firaga at the tracks! Knock 'em off! That'll stop this thing dead!"

"Right!" A precise explosion followed, and Squall spared a brief moment to feel impressed at Rinoa's spell refinement. Then his thoughts were brought back to focus on the tank and it's occupants as it lurched to a halt, nearly dislodging him.

It was immobilized, but could still fire, and it was lining up to do some serious damage, zeroing in on the hidden tanks that the resistance was now using to shoot back at the advancing Galbadians. Well, that couldn't happen, Timber couldn't afford to lose even one tank. Not when outnumbered by such a ridiculous ratio as ten Galbadian tanks to each one of Timber's.

He tried to pry open the hatch but while Bahamut had boosted his strength, he didn't _quite_ have the power that Zell did. He pondered that dilemma for a moment, wondering if he should simply jump off, give himself and Rinoa some space and have Bahamut melt it into slag.

The solution came in the form of the hatch opening and a soldier emerging, possibly to investigate why the tank was unable to move. Squall took advantage of the opportunity with the speed of a striking snake, punching the man solidly in the face, then pulling his unconscious body out of the tank and throwing it off. He took care of the rest with the simple expedient of dropping a grenade into the tank and shutting the hatch, then leaping off. Panicked cries followed and the hatch popped back open as the remaining occupants attempted escape but the grenade went off before they could, leaving nothing but a plume of greasy black smoke billowing from the opening.

He hit the ground running, looking wildly around for Rinoa. Caraway had been dragged away, shouting Rinoa's name, and Zone had gone off somewhere. The resistance had thankfully been obedient to their orders and had started shelling the advancing tanks. Some of the shells even hit their targets. Far more in fact that Squall would have thought, given the fact that most of those operating the captured tanks barely knew anything about how to use them.

What he found odd was the fact that it was only tanks that were advancing. There were no troops following them. No soldiers shooting at him. Not that they were _needed_ ; not with an entire armored division ready to roll over everything in its path.

And he and Rinoa were right in the middle of it. They needed to get to cover fast; as strong as Rinoa's protection spells were, even they wouldn't hold up for long against a concentrated artillery barrage.

"Bahamut!" He ordered the dragon. "Mega flare on the advancing line! Stop them!"

The dragon appeared in a thunderclap and soared over the army, spitting flaming plasma at the tanks grinding their way into Timber. The leading line exploded with satisfying finality, blocking the followers and forcing them to work their way around the wreckage.

Content that the advance was at least delayed for a bit, Squall resumed looking for Rinoa, heading for the last place that he'd seen her.

"Rinoa!" He called, trying to ignore the beginnings of panic clawing at his throat. Gods, if she were hurt…No, he'd _had_ to take out that tank. It would have killed them both. He had to trust in her power to protect herself; she'd been a more than able battle partner on numerous occasions. This should be no different. _Stop it fool! What's wrong with you? You have no time for this NOW…_

Smoke and dust thickened the air and made it hard to breathe and harder to see. Explosions went off randomly as Timber's tanks shelled the Galbadians, and Squall was forced to run a zigzag course to avoid being caught by one of the bombardments.

He called out for her again, and felt a surge of relief at her answer: "Here! I'm here Squall!"

He reached her side moments later and reassured himself that she appeared unhurt, if anxious. Catching her gazing as searchingly at him as he'd done with her, he gave her a small, reassuring smile, before returning his focus on the matter at hand.

"C'mon, we need to get to cover and regroup."

"Right!" Rinoa agreed, following him as he traversed what was now a battlefield.

Explosions punctuated the sound of shells screaming overhead, while bullets whizzed dangerously close to them, fired from a tank that had managed to trundle around the wreckage that Bahamut's attack had left behind.

As they ran, Rinoa recast protection and regen spells on Squall, Angelo and herself as extra insurance. It wouldn't do for the spells to wear off at an inopportune moment. It seemed as though they were the only ones fighting, until one and then another of the tanks would explode. Not enough of them though. Not _nearly_ enough.

"We need to take out some more of those tanks, Rinoa." Squall said, pausing in his loping progress across the field.

"Do you want me to use the Shockwave Pulsar again?" Rinoa asked him.

Squall looked quickly over at her, frowning, and shook his head. "No. I'm going to summon Bahamut again, and I want you to follow up with Ultima. That should be sufficient."

"Are you sure? I can do it again like last time…." Rinoa asked.

"No." Squall said adamantly. "It's overkill. It uses too much of your energy and besides that, I don't want too many people to see you using _that_ spell."

Rinoa swallowed, realizing what he was hinting at, and nodded. "Alright."

"Come on, we need to get a little closer so we can do more damage." He said, leading her on a twisting, meandering route through smoke and dust, dodging explosions and hearing the bullets whizzing past that were deflected by their shield spells.

When he got them to a position that he liked, Squall stopped and called Bahamut again while Rinoa started weaving the Ultima spell, gathering the energy it required and carefully crafting it. The heavens rumbled again, more lightning crackled across the sky, and Bahamut dove out of the clouds with a roar. Then he systematically spat flaming plasma at the tanks, destroying each one that he hit. One or two managed to get the big turret gun trained on the dragon, but none could hit him. He moved too fast for the guns to aim and was able to evade the shells easily. Soaring skyward, his job finished, the dragon leaped back into his dimension and winked out of sight. By that point, Rinoa's Ultima spell was ready and she cast it at the few tanks that the dragon had not hit.

A grimly satisfying amount of carnage was left behind. Enough at least that it appeared the playing field had been more or less leveled. It was difficult to tell exactly, the smoke had thickened to the point that the remaining numbers of tanks were hard to gauge.

It was also making it hard to breathe. It was past time for them to get out of there and rendezvous with the resistance.

Coughing from the acrid smoke, Squall said, "Come on Rinoa. Let's get out of here."

She nodded, coughing as well, and followed him in the same winding course through the battlefield until they reached the shelter of the trees, such as it was.

* * *

He was going to kill General Kashain. Strangle him; perhaps break his neck with his bare hands, or, maybe shove a knife between his ribs. Something satisfyingly personal, so that he could watch the man die. For a moment, General Caraway wished he used a weapon like that SeeD's gunblade. It looked like it would cause a satisfying amount of bloody carnage, if employed with authority, which he had no doubts that the young man could do. Certainly it looked as though it could sever a man's head from his shoulders easily enough. If Rinoa was hurt…

Thoughts of how he would exact his revenge upon General Kashain diverted him briefly, giving him time to work his way though his rage and settle onto a feasible plan of action.

As they raced back to his temporary command post, General Caraway barked to the driver, "Radio out a message to the tanks! Tell them to stand down!"

"Yes sir!" the man acknowledged, picking up his radio and doing as ordered.

"What the hell is that?" One of the bodyguards asked in a shocked voice.

General Caraway looked out the window in the direction that the young man was staring, fear stark in his expression. The clouds had thickened into a snarling black boil that threatened by their mere appearance, and Caraway wondered at that. There hadn't even been a wisp of cloud vapor in the sky earlier, but now it looked as though the mother of all storms was poised to break. As he watched, uneasiness beginning to roil in his guts, lightning began snaking through the clouds, the building tension heralding the coming of…something…

That something burst through the clouds with an earth-shaking clap of thunder and a roar, and Caraway's blood turned to ice.

"What the hell? Is that a _dragon_?"

" _Holy_ _shit_!"

"SeeD weapons," Caraway said to himself. It had to be a GF. SeeDs used Guardian Forces; something that the G-army had not been able to successfully employ… the Gardens used them, with Balamb Garden using the GFs more heavily than the others. But _this_ …he'd never heard of anyone being able to summon a _dragon_ as a Guardian….

He didn't waste time wondering which SeeD had summoned the creature. He already knew.

"If you value your life Sergeant, I would speed up." Caraway said grimly when a tank exploded far too close to them for comfort as they zoomed past it, swerving to avoid the debris. The young man pressed down on the gas pedal and the jeep leaped forward. More tanks exploded but they outdistanced them, or perhaps the Guardian had turned its attack in another direction. Either way they quickly got out of harm's way.

They raced toward General Caraway's command post, his mind sifting through various scenarios, trying to find a way to salvage the situation. General Kashain had insisted upon the armored division, but Caraway had made no secret of his plans to keep his men in reserve. So, none of _his_ troops were involved.

The excitement generated by the attack however was palpable when they finally reached the staging area, and General Caraway leaped out of the jeep almost before it stopped moving, all but running toward the operation's nerve center.

"General! Sir! What's going on? Did the rebels attack us?" One of the junior officers on his staff asked, eyes wide.

"No, Lieutenant. _We_ attacked _them_." He answered tersely, then looked around the assemblage and growled, "Where the hell is General Kashain?"

"He left just after you did. Said something about putting the plan in motion. I thought he was talking about the prisoner exchange." The young man answered.

Caraway's blood boiled but he knew better than to take it out on his staff. They wouldn't have been able to stop General Kashain even if they'd known his intent. He was a superior officer, and as far as they would have been able to determine, the attack _would_ have been part of the plan.

Striding toward the comm. center, he growled under his breath, "with any luck that son of a bitch bought it when the dragon attacked."

From behind him he heard the lieutenant gasp, "Dragon?" whereupon the men who had been in the jeep and had seen the creature in the sky, filled him in on the details.

The "command post" was really just a large tent hastily erected to provide shade from the fierce summer sun, where the Galbadian Army's communications equipment was set up. A large table with a map, several laptop computers, portable antennae and other, more arcane electronics were arranged within the tent amid a Gordian knot of wires and cables. It was the nerve center of the operation and _should_ have been where the order to advance and attack or not had originated.

Likely it had, and since General Kashain was in command of the armored division, it was almost certain that he had decided to take matters into his own hands.

Picking up a headset, General Caraway put it on and selected the radio frequency that the tanks were using.

Then he barked into the microphone, "This is General Caraway to General Kashain. Stand down! Do you hear me sir? Stand down now!" When there was no response but static, he said, "All units of the 52nd Armored. This is an order to withdraw! Break off the attack! Break it off _now_!"

A voice, distorted and nearly unintelligible due to static, responded, "Sir? …agon…half our guys! General Kashain…orders… from you…" Caraway could hear the panic in the speaker's voice, even through the static.

"Identify yourself soldier." Caraway ordered.

"Blackstone sir! Corporal Blackstone! …ant us to withdraw?" the soldier responded.

"Yes. Do it immediately!"

"Yes sir!"

The other tank crews, those still alive at any rate, responded similarly and General Caraway actually contacted the individual crews that did _not_ respond, verifying in the process how costly the attack had been.

At least half, if not more, of the tanks that made up the 52nd Armored Division were lost. Most of them completely destroyed, their crews killed. With each confirmation of a tank crew lost, Caraway's anger mounted. If by some miracle General Kashain managed to survive the carnage, Caraway wanted, very badly, to have his head on a plate for this blunder.

And it was still happening. Even as the tanks halted their advance and started to turn back, they were still being attacked. Caraway hoped that once the Timber rebels saw the retreat that they'd cease but it apparently was slow to sink in. In the meantime though, he had to listen to the radio chatter through the static, hear the fear of the men as yet another fiery attack accounted for more tanks, hear the screams of those doomed men before static swallowed their cries…

He devoutly hoped that General Kashain was dead. If he wasn't, Caraway was going to kill him.

* * *

"Hey Selphie!" the access hatch of the tank that Selphie was standing near popped open and a young man emerged, calling to her.

"Yeah? What's up 'Spray?" she asked, shading her eyes from the glare as she squinted up at him.

He rolled his eyes at Selphie's insistence upon the nickname, wondering why she didn't just call him 'Osprey' like everyone else, and answered, "I'm hearing some radio chatter from the Galbadian side. Sounds like they're being recalled."

"Yeah?" she asked, nimbly clambering up onto the tank and taking the binoculars that Osprey mutely handed her. Peering through them, she remarked, "We haven't been shelled for awhile, and yeah, it looks like they're turning around. Put the word out: cease-fire. Let 'em go."

"Right!" the young man said, taking back the binoculars and ducking back into the tank. _Started_ to, anyway. A sudden darkening of the sky made them both look upward, watching as a jagged flash of lightning tore through the clouds, heralding another attack of dragonfire.

"Oh, _shit_!" Selphie breathed, "Oh, Squall, no,no,no…they're _retreating_!" But how would she tell _him_ that? She didn't even know where he _was_. Turning back to the young man in the tank, Selphie ordered, "Send out that message 'Spray! I gotta see if I can find Squall!"

Jumping back down, she ran through the trees until she found a particular, very well screened thicket where a large, black chocobo was crouched, resting. It raised its crest at her approach, hissing slightly until she extended her hand for it to sniff, then scratched its topknot.

Looking around, then up into the trees, she called out, "Kess? Hey Kess! I need you to see if you can get a message to either Squall or Zone!"

A shadow flickered in the canopy above and a soft thump followed. Moments later, Kestrel appeared.

"Any idea where they are?" He asked.

"No. Everyone scattered when the shit hit. I'm thinking they're on the other side of the defile though. They'd have found us by now otherwise." Selphie answered.

"Yeah, that's true." Kestrel replied, something flickering across his face briefly.

Catching it, Selphie frowned, "I'm sure Shrike is..."

"No. He's not." Kestrel said flatly. "He was on one of the transports. He switched with Tern …because he's a better shot."

"But I thought…" Selphie said, then fell silent, biting her lip.

"It was a last minute thing. Thought he'd be more help there…" Kestrel gazed pensively in the direction of the battlefield, adding in a low voice, "Nobody came back from that."

Selphie swallowed, and tried to ignore the screaming in the back of her head, telling her that _Zell_ had been on one of the transports too…she took a deep breath and shoved it all aside. She had to. She'd deal with it later if it turned out that Zell had been among the casualties that they'd yet to tally.

In a deceptively calm voice, she said, "Take Skarn and see if you can't find them."

Kestrel narrowed his eyes and studied her, face unreadable. Selphie gazed back, giving him tacit permission to look for his brother along with Zone and Squall…. and both hoping and dreading that he'd find both Shrike _and_ Zell.

Finally he nodded and clicked his tongue softly, signaling the big chocobo to rise. He scratched at the creature's nares, prompting it to close its eyes and croon in pleasure, then adjusted the harness it was wearing. Swinging aboard, he shifted his rifle and ammunition belt to a more comfortable position and rode off without another word.

Selphie watched him go. There was nothing more to say.

* * *

Squall gazed in the direction of the battlefield and the advancing tanks, frowning. Bahamut swooped over the battlefield, spitting plasma down at the tanks that still remained, but…

"They've stopped." He murmured, ice forming in his veins. _Shit._ He rapped sharply on the access hatch of the tank he was sitting on with the hilt of Lion Heart; prompting it to open and a dark haired young man emerge.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Binoculars." Squall said shortly. The man ducked down into the tank and popped back up with the requested equipment in hand, giving it to him.

Squall peered through them silently for a moment, then asked, "Any chatter?"

"Lots." The young man answered. Squall glared at him, waiting for the rest.

"Oh. Uh, I think I heard General Caraway give a recall order."

Squall's attention sharpened, and he demanded, "When?"

"Just now." A burst of static and a voice sounded from the interior of the tank and they both fell silent, listening intently.

"Is that a cease-fire?"

"Yeah." Squall answered shortly, then ordered. "Ask Selphie to confirm."

"Right." The man ducked back into the tank.

As he did, Rinoa came running out of the trees, Angelo loping ahead of her, calling out, "Squall! I found them! Zone and Zell are all right, though Zell got a little singed…" she paused as Squall raised his hand sharply, stopping her. Rinoa did so with a frown, folding her arms across her chest.

"What?" she asked.

Instead of answering, Squall put the binoculars to his face again, confirming that the tanks were no longer firing at them and were in fact, turning around.

"Caraway's recalled the tanks. Selphie's ordered a cease-fire." He finally answered, lowering the binoculars, his expression grim.

"Well, that's…that's good, right?" Rinoa asked, puzzled at his manner as he climbed down from the tank.

"Yes."

"You don't appear to be happy about it," She replied; head tilted and eyebrows raised, wondering at his attitude.

"I sent Bahamut at them as they were stopping," Squall said in a low voice. "They weren't even attacking."

_Oh, Squall_ …Rinoa thought, reaching for his hand.

That action was arrested by the sound of something very large making its way through the forest toward them. Squall immediately put Lion Heart up at guard and Rinoa began gathering energy for a quick Thundaga spell.

A big, black chocobo with Kestrel aboard seemed to solidify from the forest's shadows, the noise of its approach meaning that Kestrel was making no effort at stealth. Instead, his entire attitude was one of urgency as he rode toward them at a run. Squall and Rinoa traded a puzzled but wary glance, and Squall put Lion Heart away. Whatever had put Kestrel in such an urgent state, it wasn't anything that required the use of arms. Yet.

They watched as he drew closer and Rinoa gasped softly at the long form he had draped across his lap. Her heart sank and tears pricked at her eyes, as her mind screamed in denial of what her heart knew was fact. It couldn't possibly be…

But it was.

Kestrel brought his chocobo to a halt in front of them and Rinoa's eyes confirmed that what was lying on his lap, _was_ in fact a body. His brother's body. Blood-soaked and burned…almost unrecognizable…. and lying as still as death.

Slowly, she covered her mouth with her hand, tears gathering and blurring her sight. _I'm so sorry…_ she thought, remembering their lighthearted banter, Shrike's impudent grin as he teased Squall as unmercifully as he'd teased everyone else…

"Miss Rinoa," Kestrel asked her softly, dark-blue eyes glittering wetly, beseeching her. "Can you help my brother? Can you…. save him?"

* * *

Rinoa's first impulse at seeing the extent of Shrike's injuries was to shake her head in denial. There was no possible way that he should still be alive, but he was. Barely. She watched as Kestrel, moving as carefully as possible, started to dismount.

Squall stepped forward and helped support Shrike as Kestrel slid off the Chocobo, saying, "Here, let's put him…"

Rinoa followed them as they both carefully laid Shrike down in the shade of a large tree. Kestrel knelt next to him and reached for his hand, hesitating at its burned appearance, then gently resting his hand on Shrike's shoulder instead.

"Hey, bro." He said softly. "Hey.. Hang in there, okay? Rinoa's here. She…she'll help you. You know she can." There was no response, but there _was_ a slight change in Shrike's breathing. Kestrel shot an alarmed glance at Rinoa, who knelt on the other side.

"It's okay," she said, closing her eyes and gathering her energy. Then she laid her hand gently on Shrike's chest.

She called the healing energy, named and shaped the spell, and sank her consciousness into the injured man who lay before her. She saw the injuries, the ebbing vitality; she sensed his pain and his fear…she poured her energy into that flickering light, saw it brighten, then flow outward. Kestrel had been careful with his brother, and Squall had had the sense to straighten the young man's limbs as he helped lay him down. So little needed to be done to bring the broken bones into alignment, leaving the bulk of Rinoa's energy for knitting them together.

Once she was satisfied with the progress there, she moved onto the soft-tissue injuries: healing broken blood vessels, halting the internal bleeding, healing and restoring damaged vital organs. She worked her way outward, healing as she went, and finally cast a low level regen spell. She didn't know how or why she knew it but some instinct told her that burns needed to be healed slowly in order to heal properly.

As she surfaced, she blanketed Shrike's mind and sent him into a deep, healing sleep. He sighed and relaxed, and Rinoa slowly opened her eyes to see Kestrel staring at her in apprehension, eyes still glistening.

"Is he…?" he asked, gaze fixed on Rinoa, as though afraid to look down at his brother.

"He's fine. Just sleeping. See?" Rinoa answered, gently taking his hand and placing it on Shrike's chest, which was rising and falling with reassuring regularity as the young man slept.

"Thank you." Kestrel whispered, squeezing his eyes shut, prompting his unshed tears to finally escape and track down his cheeks. "Thank you," he repeated, his voice breaking on a sob. He ducked his head and wept silently for a moment, arms wrapped tightly around himself, as though afraid he'd fly apart. It was a brief storm however; Kestrel quickly regained control, snuffling and wiping his wet eyes and dripping nose with the back of his hand and shirtsleeve.

He reached out then and rested his hand lightly on Shrike's head, caressing the hair and pushing it away from his face, murmuring; "Don't do that to me again, Dill. Ma'd have both our hides. Mine, for letting you get killed, and yours for getting killed and crashin' her party upstairs before she was ready for you to show up." Glancing up at Rinoa, he asked her, "Is it safe to move him?"

"Yes. He's healed. He just needs to rest for awhile." She answered. Kestrel nodded and bent forward to scoop his brother back into his arms. He stood carefully, and as he did, Rinoa asked him, "did you call him Dill?"

Kestrel nodded, "Yeah. His real name's Dillon. Mine is Cyllan." Turning away, he started toward the chocobo, which had settled down onto its haunches, resting.

He paused upon reaching the bird and turned back toward both Squall and Rinoa, adding, "By the way, I needed to bring you a message that the tanks have been recalled and to call off the attack."

"I'm aware. It's already done." Squall answered.

Kestrel…. _Cyllan_ … nodded and asked, "Could you forward this on to Zone?"

"Yes." Squall answered.

"Thanks." Cyllan said, tightening his grip on Shrike/Dillon as he mounted the bird.

"Kes…I mean, Cyllan.." Rinoa began, then paused as she mentally sorted out which name to call him.

"Kestrel's fine for now, if it's easier for you. Only my kin call me by my real name." Kestrel said.

"Oh. Well, I was just going to tell you to take him to the base infirmary and I'll check up on him when we get back." Rinoa said.

"Will do." Kestrel said, urging the chocobo to rise. A soft click of his tongue signaled the bird, and they rode off.

Squall and Rinoa watched the twins go, Rinoa's breath catching in surprise as Squall's hand took possession of hers.

"Did I hear something about you finding Zell and Zone?" He asked her.

"Yes, I was trying to tell you that but…"she paused, then added, softly, "I'm glad Dillon is okay…It was such a close call I wasn't sure I could save him."

"I'm glad you did." Squall said, gazing after them, the weight of memories adding to the blue of his eyes. "Siblings shouldn't be separated."

Rinoa tried to swallow down the lump that had taken up residence in her throat, squeezing Squall's hand. He glanced down at her, his gaze sharpening to the here and now as the moment passed.

"Let's go find Zone and Zell. Maybe we can wrap this up and head back to the base ourselves." He said. Glancing up at the tank, he let go of Rinoa's hand and clambered nimbly up onto it once again and rapped on the access hatch.

When it opened, Squall told the young man inside, "We're going to try and meet up with Zone. Any more chatter on the radio we need to know about?"

"Caraway's sending an open message to Zone for parlay. He's waiting on a response." The man answered.

"Zone must not be within earshot of a radio. I'll make sure to let him know when we find him." Squall said. "Send a response that Zone will contact him when he can."

"Ok. What about us?" the young man asked.

"Stand down but stay alert until Zone or one of us SeeDs gives an order to withdraw." Squall answered.

"Right." The man acknowledged and ducked back into the tank, shutting the hatch behind him.

"Let's go," Squall said, starting off in the direction Kestrel had come from.

Rinoa strode ahead and grabbed his hand again, saying, "Follow me. I know where they are."

Squall glanced at her, "Right."

She retained her hold on him, leading the way through the forest to the place where she'd found Zone and Zell. She'd told them to stay put and wait, so hopefully they were still there.

* * *

Zone leaned against a tree and gazed around the thick forest with a sigh. An echoing sigh caught his attention and he turned in its direction. Zell crouched, back braced against another tree, elbows resting upon his knees. He looked much better now than he had moments before; Rinoa had finally caught up with them and healed Zell almost immediately, leaving Zone to wonder exactly _how_ injured the SeeD had actually been.

He had begun worrying about that when the SeeD suddenly called a halt to their flight and leaned against the tree, panting heavily. Knowing of Zell's by now legendary stamina, that alone had been enough to set off alarm bells. He still looked tired and a little singed around the edges, but appeared far more alert than he had been.

That sense of unreality that he had a habit of lapsing into while in the heat of battle persisted, making him feel oddly detached. He could still smell the acrid black smoke left behind by burning vehicles and flesh; fancied he could feel its taint itching in his lungs, tempting him to cough again. His hearing had returned, though his head still felt stuffed with cotton wool. So it took a bit of time for him to notice the silence.

Not just the silence between himself and Zell. _That_ he understood. Neither of them was interested in conversation at the moment, and likely for the same reasons: physically and mentally regrouping before the next engagement, whatever that may be. He couldn't place it at first, he just felt that something was missing…then all at once he had it.

The shelling had stopped.

It had in fact been several minutes since the last explosion. The silence had never registered until now because in the back of his mind, he'd convinced himself that it was just another lull in the action.

But what if it wasn't?

"The shelling's stopped." He said. Damn. Even his voice sounded remote. Like Squall's. _That_ brought him up short, started him thinking things concerning the SeeD that he'd never considered before, bringing with it an understanding that he didn't want to have.

Zell glanced up at him, then around, frowning, "Yeah, it has…"

"We need to find one of the tank crews. I need a radio to confirm this." Zone said.

"Rinoa said to stay put. She and Squall will find us." Zell said firmly, settling himself down to a more comfortable position to wait.

Zone frowned but had to agree that Zell was right. And little as he wanted to see Squall at the moment, he had to. He needed a report of what was going on and if anyone would know, it would be Squall.

It didn't take long for them to turn up, much to Zone's relief. Not just at the fact that Rinoa was alive and unhurt; that had already been established when she'd found them and healed Zell. It was also for the fact that with their arrival would come whatever information they possessed concerning the status of the battle.

"Is it over?" He asked without preamble as soon as they were within earshot.

"It appears so," Squall answered. "Caraway recalled the tanks and Selphie called a cease-fire. He's waiting for you to respond to his request to speak with him."

"We need to get to a radio. I have to call him back immediately." Zone said, pushing off from the tree and looking around, wondering where the nearest tank was. They'd be able to contact the General that way, wouldn't they? They _were_ Galbadian tanks after all…

"I sent a message that you would contact Caraway as soon as you were able. We need to head back to the base in any case; might as well contact him from there." Squall told him.

"How do we get back there? The trucks we came in were destroyed." Zone asked him.

"Catch a ride in one of the tanks if we can't call up a chocobo." Squall answered.

"I don't think there's going to be a chocobo within a dozen kilometers right now," Zell observed. "Pretty sure they all lit out of here with the first fusillade."

"Well, it's worth a try anyway," Squall said, pursing his lips and trilling out a chocobo call, much to Zone's surprise.

It did _not_ surprise him however when there was no response. Squall cocked his head, listening, then grunted slightly and shook his head, " I guess we walk until we find the nearest tank crew."

"This way then. There's one not far from here." Zell said, unfolding from his crouched position and striking off through the forest without a backward glance. Zone glanced at Squall and Rinoa, then followed him. Rustling in the underbrush behind him told Zone that they were following as well.

He wondered, as they walked, if it was in fact over and they simply had to hash out the formalities. He hoped so; he hadn't seen any casualties from today's skirmish, but he had little doubt that there were more than a few. It wasn't something he was anxious to view.

He was a little surprised at himself; he'd thought, as long as he'd been the leader of the Forest Owls, that he'd be a little more inured to it. But what he and Owls had done in the past; that was small-scale: Sabotage, theft, minor skirmishes, that sort of thing. The commitment was small, and so were the losses. But the sheer, bloody reality of a full-scale war, even one as hopefully brief as this appeared to be…. Was beyond even his worst nightmare.

What sort of person would _choose_ this as a career? _One who'd been given no other options._ That insight angered him. It gave him far more commonality with the SeeD than he wanted.

_What sort of person chooses the path of rebellion?_ The question surfaced in his mind, along with the answer: _One who'd been given no other options._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.. nearing the end, but don't ask me HOW CLOSE, because I have no idea. I'm just making this up as I go along. BUT I will be winding things down. So far, it looks like Timber's fight for independence was successful, but now it's time for negotiations to take place before the it can be officially over. How will this play out for Squall and co? Will they remain in Timber until everything's officially done, or will they return to Balamb now that the fighting is over and their expertise is no longer needed? And what about Rinoa? Where is HER place in all of this? Well, you'll just have to wait and see..


	30. Shattered Perceptions

Is it over, do you think?" Watts asked.

"I don't know. Zone's still in there, talking to Caraway isn't he?" Selphie asked, restlessly flipping her nunchakus back and forth.

"Yeah," he sighed.

Watts had found her sitting under a tree, one of the few that still remained on the base, wiping them off and oiling them. He'd never realized that they'd require such care, but then, they _were_ weapons, and when used as such, _did_ require cleaning.

It was a lovely day; early enough that it was still fairly cool, edging on toward a hot afternoon. The sun shone brightly, birds sang…And the fate of Timber and everyone involved with recent events was teetering on the edge of a knife as Zone negotiated via teleconference with General Caraway of Galbadia.

A full formal meeting had yet to be set. And it _had_ to happen. A delegation from Timber would have to meet with the general and his representatives to hammer out particulars, sign treaties, pass resolutions…make everything official. The sticking point was _where_.

For obvious reasons, Zone was leery of walking into Galbadia unarmed with just his delegation at his back; technically, he was still a criminal and a rebel. He had little reason to trust Caraway or anyone else involved in Galbadia's government. Caraway, unsurprisingly, was of a like mind concerning meeting in Timber.

So, the entire protracted discussion that was currently taking place was all over exactly _where_ they should meet to make Galbadia's withdrawal and the ceasing of hostilities in the Timber-Galbadia war official. Caraway would _not_ call it surrender, and at first Watts had thought he was simply being arrogant in not admitting defeat. But that perception was called into question upon further consideration.

Timber was not trying to conquer Galbadia, they were fighting for independence; they were not trying to expand their borders by taking chunks of it away from Galbadia. In that respect then, Galbadia's withdrawal from battle and cessation of further hostilities was not surrendering so much as an acknowledgment of Timber's position. If things had gone the other way however…then yes, it could be called surrender then, as Timber would have been beaten into submission much as they had been seventeen years ago. It was more than just semantics.

Selphie sighed then, interrupting Watts' ruminations on the subject, saying, "This is the boring part. Where the higher ups get to yap away and split hairs about who gets what, and when. I don't envy Squall."

"Squall? What's he got to do with it?" Watts asked, puzzled. He _had_ wondered exactly why the SeeD was there when neither of the other two was. Nor was _his_ presence really required at the moment, a fact that left him simultaneously relieved and disquieted. He was Zone's brother. He _should_ be there at his side. Of course, he _had_ gotten the OK from Zone to leave for a bit of air…and had caught a glimpse of Squall's expression saying clearly that the SeeD wished he could do the same thing.

"Well, with this particular situation, as little as possible, since he's here as just a SeeD squad leader and not as Commander. So he's lending Zone his support but not participating in the negotiations much. He didn't _want_ to take the lead; Timber's not his responsibility. Getting Galbadia out and winning Timber's independence, _that_ was our job. That's what we were contracted for. He wants to wrap this up as neatly as possible so we can all go home to Balamb." Selphie answered seriously. Then she added, "What I meant about not envying Squall is that in his position as Commander, he's gonna have to do this a lot. And he hates it. As you can probably tell, diplomacy is not his strong suit."

Watts snorted, "yeah. A blind man could see that."

Moving closer, he leaned against the tree and added, "Still, he's pretty good at negotiating, from what little I could see. I guess the rest will come with more practice. Nobody's perfect right off the bat."

"Squall was." Selphie said.

Watts frowned at her and asked, "What do you mean?"

"High scores in everything. Highest rank ever on a field exam, and a master at using a weapon that very few people can manage. With Seifer egging him on the whole way. They were constantly trying to outdo each other, and the end result was two of probably the deadliest SeeDs ever to come out of Garden. One that nearly destroyed the world, and one that saved it." Selphie explained.

"Whew," Watts said, shaking his head. "That's heavy-duty. For anyone."

"Yeah," Selphie sighed, "it is." They lapsed into silence for a moment, caught up in their thoughts.

"So…do you miss Balamb? I'm guessing you guys are going to want some down time to decompress after all this is done," Watts said.

"Yeah. Well, Balamb is home for us," Selphie replied.

"Not for Rinoa," Watts observed. Selphie frowned at him, and then dropped her gaze to her nunchakus.

"We've tried to make her feel like she belonged with us. I thought we'd succeeded." Selphie said, raising her eyes to meet Watts'.

"You did pretty well, from what I can see. I mean, it looks like you get along with her, and she likes you guys as well. That's not what I'm talking about." Watts said.

"Then what _are_ you talking about?" Selphie asked, dread beginning to settle into the pit of her stomach. Watts wasn't stupid, and he was working his way toward something that Selphie had been worrying about for quite awhile.

"Your contract with the Owls…that was initiated by Rinoa, right? So she's your client, which is why you're here." Watts reasoned. "That contract, once we complete the negotiations and get a treaty signed and ratified, will be fulfilled. And you guys will be going home to Balamb."

"Right," Selphie confirmed.

"What makes you think that Rinoa will be coming back with you?" Watts asked her. "Did you think of that? Did Squall? She won't be your client any more, so you can't use the excuse that you're protecting her to bring her back with you. I know for a fact that SeeDs aren't in the habit of taking their clients with them when they finish a job."

"Oh, my Gods…" Selphie whispered. She wanted to kick herself. She wanted to kick the damn tree. She wanted to kick Watts, for voicing out loud what she had been trying to avoid thinking about. No wonder Rinoa had been moody and worried, bordering on sad lately. They'd all been so busy and stressed about the battle to come that Selphie had thought _that_ to be the reason.

"Squall didn't want her involved in the negotiations at all. Caraway insisted that she be there. If looks could kill I think Caraway would have dropped dead right then. Just as well that he couldn't see Squall." Watts said, adding, "I couldn't figure out why, I mean, she _was_ nominally our leader, at least initially…"

"I know it's not realistic to think that we could just bring Rinoa back with us. She's not a cadet, a SeeD or even a student. I remember her having trouble figuring out where she fit in during the Ultimecia thing, and we at least had the excuse of protecting our client. It was the truth but there was way more to it than that, and she was a huge help, in the end. But now…" Selphie's voice trailed off.

There was also the fact that Rinoa was a sorceress that had to be figured into things as well. Rinoa had to be thinking about it. And Squall…well; when it came to his personal life, Selphie was aware that he could be frustratingly dense. It probably hadn't even occurred to him, not with everything else that he was dealing with.

"I really should talk to Rinoa…" Selphie said to herself. She didn't know if it would be of any help whatsoever, but maybe between the two of them, they could figure _something_ out…

"She's still stuck in there with them. And I need to be getting back too. It doesn't look good as Zone's partner for me to be gone too long, though I'm with Squall on this one: politics is a pain in the ass." Watts said. Then he added seriously, "look, it's not my business, really, but should you be getting this involved with their relationship? I mean, ultimately, they have to figure it out for themselves, and there's not a lot that you or anyone else can do to help them."

Selphie bit her lip, "I know. But…" _You have no idea what this will do to Squall, if he loses her. It'll destroy him._

"Look, even if Rinoa has to stay here or go back home or whatever, nothing's stopping them from continuing to see each other, right?" Watts asked her in a reasonable tone. "So, you know, just let them work that part out."

"It's not that simple with Squall, Watts. Nothing is. And, I think I know why he wanted to keep Rinoa out of the negotiations as much as possible." Selphie sighed. "I think he's afraid."

"Afraid? _Squall?_ " Watts asked, incredulously. At first it seemed ludicrous that the SeeD would fear _anything_. Then Watts realized what Selphie was getting at just as she voiced it.

"He's afraid that Rinoa will choose Timber over him."

* * *

Squall fought the urge to grind his teeth at the protracted discussion that was currently in progress, and had been for several hours. Far longer than he'd ever thought possible. Over a _location_. At least they'd finally settled on Dollet; they were just hashing out details of the venue and the date and who was invited, who was not, and what everyone could and couldn't bring.

It was giving him a massive headache.

"Is two weeks enough time to get everything together?" Zone was asking Caraway via teleconference.

"It should be on my end, though I may have to strong arm some of the more stubborn representatives to get them to participate." Caraway answered.

"Likewise." Zone said.

"So, to recap: Two weeks from today, you and Timber's representatives will meet with me and Galbadia's in Dollet, at the Hotel On the Strand. Eight o'clock AM." Caraway said, adding, "I would like to have a full list of your delegation no later than the week before. Sooner is better. I'll send mine to you as soon as I have it."

Zone frowned thoughtfully, considering who would need to be involved in the process. As yet, aside from him as the leader of the Forest Owls, Timber didn't really have a government. There was of course the mayor and the chamber of commerce, though Zone rather thought _that_ lot could be dispensed with, with the possible exception of the mayor.

Still, someone from the general populace of Timber would have to be included along with Zone, the mayor, Watts, the rest of the Owls and whomever they engaged as bodyguards.

"One final thing," Caraway added. "I would like to speak with Miss Heartilly. Alone."

Everyone present froze, and exchanged puzzled glances. Everyone but Squall and Rinoa; she sat bloodless and still, staring at him. He stared back, rigid and expressionless.

"Um.." Zone managed, uncertain. "I guess we could include that…"

"No." The General said firmly. "Now. Clear the room. I want to speak with her in private."

Zone's jaw firmed and he challenged, "Why? I already explained to you that she turned the leadership of the Forest Owls over to _me_ in order to work with the SeeDs."

"That has nothing to do with this and it is none of your concern." Caraway said coldly.

"No." Squall said, voice softly menacing. He stood; glaring at the speaker that Caraway's voice was coming from. In the back of his mind, he knew it was silly to waste his best, most frightening glare on an inanimate object, but it was reflex.

"This is not your concern either, Leonhart. Your job is finished. You have no reason to remain in Timber. In fact, I'm frankly surprised you haven't hightailed back to Balamb already. I know for a fact you're not waiting on a paycheck." General Caraway stated.

" _The job_ , as you call it, is _not_ over." Squall retorted flatly. "Not until I see it in writing. And I'm not leaving until I do."

"Your choice, though I think you overestimate your relevance to this situation." Caraway replied. "Now. Clear the room. I want to talk to my…to Rinoa."

Squall shot a quick glance at Zone, Watts and the other principals in the room, wondering if they'd caught the General's near slip. They all appeared puzzled but nobody looked as though they were dwelling too deeply on it. He let out a slow breath, only then realizing that he'd been holding it, and directed his attention to Rinoa.

"Rin?" he asked her in a low voice. She held his gaze for a long moment, swallowing, and drew strength from it, from his willingness to stand at her side against all comers, even if one of them was her father. Finally she nodded shakily.

"Okay." _I'll be okay,_ she thought at him, but didn't send it, instead keeping her shields tightly closed. Still, her expression was open enough to be reassuring to him, so he withdrew with as much good grace as he could manage.

He didn't like it though, and it was patently obvious how much when he stalked out of the room, almost visibly bristling. Sighing, Zone and Watts followed, as did the rest of the people present. The door to the comm. center clicked shut behind them and Zone glanced back, wondering why the general had insisted upon speaking with Rinoa.

"Might as well take a break. I'm gonna get something to eat," Watts said, then asked. "You hungry?"

"No, not really," Zone answered, frowning and looking around. Everyone else that had been in the room was drifting off down the hallway in which they stood. He could have sworn that they were _right_ behind Squall, but the SeeD was nowhere to be found.

Finally he asked, "Is it a SeeD thing? The way they just sorta….disappear?"

Watts shrugged, "I guess so. Zell does it. So does Selphie. If they want to disappear, apparently, they do."

"Well, its obvious he was plenty pissed. Maybe he went to go cool off or something." Zone said with a shrug, wondering what Squall _did_ to blow off steam. Then he remembered the huge gunblade that Squall was never without and shuddered. Probably best not to try and find out. Usually the SeeD was cool, bordering on cold, and was not given to emotional displays. You wouldn't know _what_ he was thinking or feeling unless he wanted you to.

"Yeah, maybe. Well, I'm gonna take off for a bit. I guess I'll be back here in a few minutes, in case you need me." Watts said.

Zone nodded, "Okay. I'm going to go get some air. I'll check in on Rinoa in a few minutes, make sure she's all right, and touch base with Caraway again."

* * *

Squall seethed the entire way down the hallway and out of the complex; walking so fast he was nearly running. He had to get out and get some air, and get a handle on his temper or he'd hurt someone and derail this whole, maddening, delicate process. The last thing he wanted to do was throw a spanner into the works and undo everything that he and every one else here had sweated and bled to achieve.

So he needed to go someplace quiet, _alone_ , and work through it.

Gunblade exercises usually worked. Even though what he _really_ wanted to do was punch something, _anything_ , bloody, that would do in a pinch.

Still…He kicked a rock with a growl, and watched it skitter a satisfying distance while the cool, rational part of his mind simply raised its eyebrows at the childish act. Or perhaps that was Bahamut. He turned his mind inward in query and received a noncommittal response. The dragon was apparently uninterested in his pique at the moment, its attitude a clear message that it was withdrawing to let him deal with it on his own.

He rather liked that about Bahamut, actually. Shiva tended to be almost overly proprietary, perhaps because she'd been his first GF, and certainly was the one he'd had the longest. Their bond was deeper, so of course his emotional state would affect her more. The reverse was also true, and in fact was one of the reasons why Squall had been characterized as being _cold_ for so long. Shiva's influence had definitely had a cooling effect upon her host's emotions.

Squall had little doubt that Shiva would have been giving him _all kinds_ of opinions and advice about the negotiations, Caraway, and Rinoa.

At length he found himself in a park-like space just outside the comm. center and began to breathe more easily. It was neglected and somewhat overgrown, but it was also secluded and that was what Squall needed at the moment. He'd been trying hard not to think about what might possibly happen after everything was wrapped up…and for some damn reason he'd had this vision of tying Timber's situation up neatly and presenting it to Rinoa like a present, complete with a bow on top.

He was such a fucking idiot it wasn't even funny. What the hell was he thinking? That she'd just come back to Balamb with him? That her father would even _let_ her? Just because she'd gotten away with running off to Timber didn't mean that situation could or would continue. He shoved that thought away with another growl. He didn't deal well with his emotions at the best of times and the pressure of having to deal with so many people and situations all at once was beginning to wear on him.

Right. So…focus. He closed his eyes and took a balanced stance, gunblade in ready position. Deep breaths. One. Two. Find the center, ground it to the earth. He stood still and simply breathed until he felt rock-steady and rooted to the ground. His roiling emotional state calmed and fell away as his focus zeroed in on his body and his weapon.

Then he began to move, starting with the same basic, beginner's pattern that he always used as a warm up. Then he flowed into an intermediate pattern, moving through the techniques of slash, guard, parry, shift and dodge like a dancer. He worked through the levels, gaining speed while still focusing on accuracy and precision, and never losing even an ounce of his natural, catlike grace.

He and Seifer were nearly equals in this, though done side by side, the differences in the way they each moved was very evident. Seifer's movements were powerful, forceful and brutal, lacking somewhat in refinement and beauty while still showing the talent and expertise of the gunblader. Squall's on the other hand were smooth, graceful and lightning fast from start to finish; both skill and artistry on full display while never losing one whit of the deadly power behind it.

It was beautiful to watch; a true irony because Squall took great pains to ensure that few people ever saw it.

He worked at the patterns until his breath grew short and his movements became sloppy from fatigue. He decided to stop then, breathing deeply for a few moments, before beginning his cool down. He felt better for the exercise; it always did tend to put him in a more focused frame of mind.

Of course, now he was tired and sweaty; the weather was warm and Squall had been working hard. He decided a quick shower before heading back to the Communications Center wouldn't be a bad idea. And while the exercise had taken the edge off, it hadn't actually _solved_ anything. It had just made it easier for him to deal with it…. or more accurately, lock it away and try, as best he could, to forget about it. At least for the moment.

It wasn't a state of affairs that could last long, he knew, but solving anything on _that_ battlefront was impossible without Rinoa's input…. And the mere thought of that brought a sense of dread along with it.

He started toward the Officer's Barracks, but hadn't gone but a few steps before he stopped, frowning, and turned back toward the comm. center where Rinoa still was. There was a strong pull for him to return there, an almost physical force that stopped him in his tracks, and he didn't know if it was his heart, his mind or …something else. He supposed it didn't matter, ultimately. Something told him he needed to be there, shower or no shower. He'd figure out the why of it later.

So he turned and followed the inner prompting that drew him back to where he'd left Rinoa.

He found himself outside the closed door to the room he'd just left, Rinoa still presumably inside talking with her father. He stood there for a moment, feeling very off balance and more than a little stupid, and getting annoyed as a result.

But he couldn't…. _wouldn't_ … leave. Rinoa was still in there. He knew it just like he knew that it was air that he was breathing. He didn't have to see it to know it was there, and that he needed it. Just like he needed her. And just like he knew, without it ever being said, that even though he couldn't be at her side right then, _she_ needed _him_. He wondered if, because she was a Sorceress, she could sense his presence just outside the door, waiting for her.

Perhaps. And if that were the case then he would wait for her.

Sighing, he leaned back against the door and folded his arms, turning his head slightly, listening for any sound from the room beyond. He heard nothing, but that inner pull that had drawn him there did not go further than the door, so by that he had to assume that Rinoa wasn't in any danger. Not that she should be anyway; this area of the base was completely secure, he'd seen to that himself.

"Is she still in there?" Zone's voice caught his attention and he watched the young man approach along with Watts.

"Yes." Squall answered shortly and directed his attention elsewhere, uninterested in conversing further.

"What happened to you?" Watts asked him curiously, taking in his sweaty and disheveled appearance.

Squall glanced over at him, mask firmly in place, and answered, "nothing."

"Nothing?" Watts repeated, eyebrows raised.

"Yes."

Watts traded a puzzled look with Zone, who was frowning slightly. Then his expression cleared and he focused his attention on Squall.

"You went to go blow off some steam didn't you?" He asked. Squall narrowed his eyes and nodded. Seeing this confirmation, Zone added, "Not surprising. You were plenty pissed when you left."

Squall gave a noncommittal shrug but otherwise remained silent. Zone snorted inwardly. If the guy didn't want to talk, he wouldn't. Period.

"Well, at least you didn't kill anybody." Watts said lightly, observing the lack of blood on Squall's person.

"I've seen Zell do the same thing. If he got bored or frustrated or something. Sometimes I'd join him in a sparring match if I felt up for it." Zone said, then wished he hadn't brought that up when Squall turned and raked him head to toe in a frosty, measuring glance. He suddenly felt uneasily like an antelope about to be challenged to the footrace of his life.

And the lion was off the leash.

He cleared his throat, suddenly uncomfortable. Watts glanced at him, then at Squall, and turned his attention to the closed door, frowning in concern. Squall was still leaning against the door, his head cocked as though trying to hear more than muffled sounds from the other side of the wood.

"Sure taking their sweet time," Watts murmured.

Zone sighed and leaned against the opposite wall, "Well, you know there's no love lost between those two…"

Squall's attention immediately focused…intensely… upon Zone. Eyes narrowed, he asked warily, "What do you mean?"

Zone rolled his eyes and shook his head, answering, "I know you think we're a bunch of amateur rubes here, but give us a _little_ credit. Everyone in _Winhill_ knew who Julia Heartilly was, and while Timber isn't as huge as Deling City, we're certainly not as hick as Winhill either."

Watts added, "My father was a huge fan of Julia's. Got every album she ever recorded, and yeah, there was more than one. Only the one song ever made it big though. You'd have to be blind not to see how much Rinoa looks like her mother. And stupid not to know who Julia Heartilly was married to… or what she'd named their daughter."

"So you guys knew all along." Squall stated.

"Yeah. But she never made an issue of it. Never talked about him even. Some of us thought that it was a really lame attempt at infiltrating the group, and no few of the Owls considered actually taking her hostage and holding her for ransom." Zone explained.

"But she seemed to sincerely want to help. Zone here argued the hardest against the whole ransom idea. It was hard to buy that she just simply ran away though. I mean, Caraway never even reported her missing. So the Owls, they put her on 'probation' as it were, and kept an eye on her, to see if she could actually be trusted or not." Watts continued, picking up the thread where Zone had left off.

"So, yeah. We called her 'Princess'. To a lot of us at first, that's what she was. A spoiled rich girl who ran away from daddy to get her way. We figured when things got tough she'd run back home. And we made sure never to involve her directly in anything that might lead to the group being compromised. But as time passed and she proved, time and again, that she could be trusted…well she became a part of the family." Zone said.

"So you humored her." Squall said.

"At first, yeah." Watts agreed, adding, "Then…. well, she grew on us, and yeah, we became family. Calling her Princess was sort of a veiled insult at first, and then it became a pet name for her. A term of endearment."

"We fell in love with her," Zone said softly. Squall studied him silently, the sharp, shrewd intelligence that glittered in those arctic eyes more than a little disconcerting to Zone. It was as close to a bald admission of how he felt about Rinoa to Squall as he'd ever dared come, and he had little doubt that the mercenary had caught it. What that might ultimately mean to them all however was something yet to be determined.

Then Squall sighed and shifted his weight restlessly, looking away from the two young men and returning to his attempts to listen to the muffled conversation that he could hear. He wasn't trying to _actually_ hear what was being said, the door was too solidly built for that. Instead, he was listening to the tones and cadences of the voices, which thus far were calm. If they grew louder or sounded distressed, he'd batter down the door if necessary to get to Rinoa's side.

While he waited he did his best to ignore the restless impulse to pace, and dismissed Zone and Watts from his mind, not interested in speaking with them…or _anyone_ …further.

_We fell in love with her…_ he'd caught that all right, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that Zone was talking mostly about himself. He wasn't sure how to feel about that, or what to think. At least he now knew what _had_ to be the root cause of Zone's hostility toward him. Not that he was at _all_ interested in making friends with the guy.

The muffled voices behind the door stilled and Squall mentally pushed all thoughts of Zone, Watts and most of all, Zone's almost admission, from his mind. He pushed off from the door and turned to face it, fighting the urge to kick it in (since he didn't even know if Rinoa had locked it behind her or not…).

The door suddenly flew open, prompting Zone and Watts both to flinch in reaction. Squall however stood rock steady as Rinoa barreled through and right into him, flinging her arms around him and burying her face into his chest. Squall automatically wrapped his arms around her and held her close, leaning his face against her hair.

"Rinoa?" he asked softly.

She tightened her arms around him and remained silent.

"So um…" Watts ventured, clearing his throat and exchanging a frowning glance with Zone. "I'm guessing we're done here."

Rinoa nodded, face still pushed against Squall's chest.

"Right." Zone said, sighing. "We'll talk tomorrow?" Rinoa nodded again.

He caught Squall's eye as he left and raised his eyebrows in question, receiving a slight shoulder twitch in response. Curiosity unsatisfied, he followed Watts out, leaving it to Squall to comfort her, trying hard to ignore the pang that gave him.

It was a long moment after they had left before Rinoa stirred, tightened her arms around him for a moment, then loosened them and looked up at him. Surprisingly, she was dry-eyed and composed, a fact that left Squall wondering. She'd clung to him, trembling with tension and emotion, and he'd half expected tears from her. But none were forthcoming. Not yet, anyway.

Reaching up and caressing his face, Rinoa said softly, "Let's go back to your room. I need you right now."

"Alright," Squall agreed, gazing at her searchingly, and feeling a bit unsettled at what he saw in her eyes.

They didn't speak as they left the comm. center and returned to the quarters that Squall had appropriated for himself and Rinoa. It had been chosen mainly for its privacy, and while it wasn't _quite_ the commanding officer's quarters, it certainly had belonged to _someone_ on the command staff.

Closing, then locking the door behind him, he turned to meet Rinoa's gaze and saw… Love, desire, longing…. and pain. Then she was in his arms again, threading her fingers through his hair and pulling him into a deep, demanding kiss, driving that disconcerting glimpse from his mind. Her hunger, as she devoured his lips and started tugging at his clothes, ignited his own. He'd wanted her, _ached_ for her, all day. But they'd been busy with the negotiations and they hadn't had any time for themselves. They were taking the time now.

They spoke in breathless whispers, lips and tongues dueling while hands were busy at the work of removing impeding clothing. Soft moans, gasps, words of encouragement, of love, heightened their need for each other. Rinoa pulled him with her onto the bed, falling back with a thump and a slight grunt as he landed on top of her. Then she moaned and writhed under him as he trailed kisses and light nips down the side of her neck, biting the point of her shoulder gently before taking one of her nipples into his mouth, sucking hard and scraping lightly with his teeth.

She raked her fingers through his hair, tugging at it, squirming underneath him, shifting and wrapping her legs around him, silently begging him to join with her _now_. Her heart thudded heavily and she ached for him to be inside of her, filling, stretching, making her _whole_ …

He wanted to take his time and explore her thoroughly, but she would not be denied; she wanted him hard and fast and _right now_. Unable to deny his own aching need any longer, he slammed forcefully, deeply into her, forcing a moaning cry from her. She arched to meet his next stroke, legs locked around his hips and nails digging into his buttocks, spurring him on. And on. Primal lust and animal instinct collided with passion and love, the volatile, intoxicating results rendering them powerless against the ancient imperatives encoded deep into their DNA.

He braced himself, hands on either side of Rinoa, and rolled his hips forward, driving forcefully in time with her gasping moans while she raked at his back with her nails. Eyes half closed, he watched her as he made love with her, breath coming short and sweat starting to trickle down his chest. Her eyes were closed, her dark hair tumbled about and moist lips parted as she gasped for air and cried out his name. He felt her tension increase, then he pushed her relentlessly over the brink, fastening his lips over hers and swallowing her cry as he buried himself deep within her, and followed her down.

He gazed down at her in the aftermath, body still throbbing, heart still pounding, striving to catch his breath. He felt as though he'd just run a race in tandem with her, and hoped to Hyne that she'd managed to finish with him. He thought she had but it was a near thing, so closely did his climax follow. Moisture glistened on her skin as her breasts rose and fell in time with her own labored breathing. Slowly, she opened her eyes and met his, smiling slightly, almost tremulously, up at him. Releasing the death grip that she'd had on his buttocks, she let her hands travel up his back, pulling him to her. He obligingly came to rest on top of her briefly, kissing her then withdrawing to roll onto his side, facing her.

Pulling her close against him again, he simply studied her face, wondering at the too-bright glimmer in her eyes, the almost imperceptible tremor in her lips. Stroking the backs of his fingers lightly over her cheekbones, he finally whispered, "I love you."

He was left reeling in confusion as Rinoa's face crumbled and she burst into tears, burying her face into his chest again.

* * *

The sound of the shower running woke Rinoa. She had wept herself into exhaustion while Squall simply held her. She could plainly sense his confusion and distress; she had thinned her shields enough to call him to her, and had kept them thinned. She thought that she should feel guilty for letting her need for him compel Squall to come to her, make love with her and hold her while she wept… but she didn't.

She was glad that the officer's quarters had an en-suite bathroom; it made things easier on them both. Of course, there was nothing at _all_ easy about the situation that had brought Rinoa to tears in the first place. Sighing, she firmed up her mental barriers until she was certain that her emotional state was again contained and not leaking out and affecting Squall.

The hell of it was, she _couldn't_ tell him what had caused her to burst into tears after they'd made love; a first for them both. Squall hadn't asked her about it either, perhaps because it hadn't occurred to him. Either that, or even more likely, he simply respected her silence.

She hadn't missed _Squall's_ emotional state either. How could she when she could _read_ as well as broadcast when she had her barriers down? He'd needed her as much as she'd needed him. It certainly hadn't taken much of a nudge to get him to respond to her. She didn't think it would have taken much even if she _hadn't_ lowered her shields a tad. Certainly she hadn't lowered them a great deal.

So she had already gotten a sense of his fears and anxieties with regard to the negotiations and to their relationship, and…. his worries over what would happen when everything was finalized and their contract was fulfilled. She wanted to reassure him, tell him that everything would be okay and they could stay together, but the truth was, she didn't know.

She didn't want to lose him, but she had no idea how to keep him.

Certainly it would not help his worries in the slightest if Rinoa were to confide her own dilemma to him; it would simply reinforce them. She was trapped; caught between her father's demands, Timber's freedom, and her heart and soul, and she just couldn't see a way out that wouldn't destroy everything that they'd fought for. So, in the end, just as they'd both feared, it had come down to her having to make a choice: Squall, or Timber.

She was not a chess player. She couldn't see the pattern in the pieces on the board, plot a strategy several moves ahead, and see probabilities. Not the way Squall could when he was planning a battle strategy. She could only see the choices offered to her, and of those choices, the one that would hurt the fewest number of people was the one that would rip her heart in two. Timber had to win. The fate of the entire country and its citizens balanced against her love life? No contest, no matter how much Squall meant to her.

But, she would hate her father for the rest of her life for forcing her to make that choice.

The water shut off and Rinoa stretched, watching the bathroom door. She almost wept again when Squall emerged, vigorously toweling his hair dry, while another towel was wrapped round his hips. His chest and arms were slick and gleaming with moisture, highlighting his lean musculature. His pendant also gleamed; he likely had not removed it before showering, so it too was wet and glittering. He was so beautiful her heart ached.

He'd finished with his hair and it was fluffed out around his head in damp spikes. He buried his face in the towel to dry it off and when he was done, he looked up and met her eyes. Rinoa swallowed as she saw puzzlement and a hint of sadness in his gaze, and almost looked away, fearing that he'd see even more than that in _her_ eyes. Instead she gave him a smile, hoping that he wouldn't see how perilously close to tears she had come yet again.

He responded with a small smile of his own and started getting dressed, commenting, "it's getting on toward dinner. Are you hungry?"

In fact, her stomach was so knotted up, she didn't know if she could eat or not, but she knew she needed to; she hadn't eaten since breakfast.

She nodded, "Yeah, I'll get dressed…"

He paused, tee shirt in hand, and let his gaze caress her, before saying huskily, "You don't have to if you don't want to. I'll bring dinner back. We can just…spend the evening together. Just us."

_Damn_. Rinoa's eyes were prickling again. She look a deep breath and said softly, "I would like that." Squall nodded in satisfaction and pulled the shirt over his head.

Approaching the bed where Rinoa still lay, Squall bent down and gave her a soft, lingering kiss. "I think we both need a break tonight. Some time to ourselves."

"Yes," Rinoa whispered, voice thick. "Yes, we do."

"All right then." Squall straightened up. "I'll be back in a bit."

He started toward the door, then paused and looked back at her, saying softly, "I love you."

"I love you too."

He smiled at her again; that same, sweet, almost shy smile that she saw for the first time the night they had celebrated Ultimecia's defeat. The smile that had melted her heart down to her toes and preceded their first kiss. The same smile that now threatened to break her heart. Somehow Rinoa smiled back, and Squall turned and left.

She waited until the door closed behind him before she started crying again.

* * *

Two weeks later, they were winging toward Dollet in the Ragnarok; Squall had kept Quistis, and everyone else at Balamb Garden, apprised of the current situation in Timber, now that he had regular access to communications again. He'd also started taking up the reins of his commander duties, albeit in absentia, as he was stubbornly refusing to return to Balamb until the treaties had been properly signed.

Quistis and her team had finished their mission in Esthar long since, and had returned to Balamb bearing President Loire's heartfelt thanks and well wishes, along with a very generous payment. He'd insisted upon the bonus, over and above the original negotiated fee, due to, as he put it, "the exemplary service" the SeeDs had rendered. These, with the exception of the payment of course, she passed along to Squall when he checked in with her.

The formalizing of the Timber-Galbadia Treaty of course didn't involve the SeeDs in any capacity other than as a protective detail. When General Caraway challenged Squall on his continued presence, he'd blandly stated that it was part of his contract with Rinoa to see that Timber was free, which included protecting her and the Timber delegation so as to be certain that nothing would interfere with that process.

Squall and Rinoa, during the time leading up to and during that meeting were, in a word, _careful_ with each other. Not walking on eggshells, precisely, but…mindful… of each word, gesture, expression. It was painfully obvious to their friends that try as they might to hide it; there was an undercurrent of distress that only those who did not know them intimately would miss. It was as though each feared that the other would suddenly…disappear.

To those few not counted among his intimates though, Squall was as grimly efficient as always, if a trifle…dedicated… to Rinoa's safety in particular. A state of affairs that General Caraway could find little fault with, try though he might.

The whole process took three days. At the end of it, Zone, whose given name was revealed upon signing the document in question as David Zonarski, and Watts, likewise identified as Benjamin Watson Jr., along with their delegation, emerged with several pages of paper that was the culmination of everything they'd fought for. If they looked a little shell-shocked as a result, it was understandable.

Squall's involvement was on the periphery; his input was no longer needed, nor wanted. Still, because of his nominal role as bodyguard for Rinoa in particular, and, more grudgingly, Watts and Zone, his presence was tolerated. Zell and Selphie too, as part of Squall's team, were included in the protection detail.

Of course, that mostly consisted of being posted outside the doors, along with a similar pair of bored Galbadian regulars. Squall, acting as Rinoa's personal bodyguard, stood behind her chair in one of the hotel's conference rooms…. a silent, cold-eyed, glowering sentry. Any effort to remove him was met with a blankly challenging stare. Even unarmed, no one wanted to test him. So he remained.

It was with a sense of relief that Squall followed the mass exodus from the meeting room for the final time. He supposed he should feel a sense of accomplishment at a job well done; he _had_ , after all, done exactly as his client had wished. But he didn't. Instead, he had the uncomfortable feeling of a doom yet to be realized; another shoe waiting to drop.

Rinoa was walking ahead with Zone and Watts (or David and Ben…if one were disposed to use their _actual_ names…) securely surrounded by the rest of the Timber delegation, all talking about the precious documents that Zone was currently carrying in a large folder. The damned thing was nearly the thickness of a large book; Squall had seen it and marveled at the sheer volume of legal jargon that it had contained. On the surface, it was just a stack of papers. But beyond that, it was the sum total of nearly two decades of blood and sheer grit.

The Hotel on the Strand was on a cliff just above the beach, with one side facing the picturesque central plaza and fountain, the other facing the beach. The weather was beautiful and warm, with just enough breezes from the nearby ocean to make it pleasant. The sun shone brightly and sparkled on the restless waves, their quiet susurrus a soothing undertone to the treble cries of the seabirds.

They had exited the building beachside, gathering on the colorfully tiled portico that extended to the edge of the cliff overlooking the strand. Refreshments were being served in celebration, Squall supposed, of the completion and signing of the Timber-Galbadia Peace Accord (the official title of the document, as given out to all the press outlets present). Champagne was on offer, along with various other drinkables and edible snacks. Everyone was relaxing and socializing, relieved that the stress of the negotiations were at an end.

Squall wasn't hungry. He was thirsty though, and so availed himself of a glass of ice water. He sipped it while scanning the crowd, keeping an alert eye on Rinoa. Unbidden, his gaze tracked toward the Ragnarok, crouched upon the sand, gleaming molten in the golden sunset. It would be his, and Zell, Selphie and Rinoa's, ride home to Balamb.

He wanted to leave right then; take Rinoa back with him, hold her close, bury his face in her hair and never let her go. He had to keep to his professional façade however. Among those already aware of their relationship, he could allow himself to be more casual, more demonstrative, toward her. But in mixed company such as this, it was necessary for him to be _much_ more circumspect. They had both agreed it was best to maintain a professional mien while the negotiations were in progress; it seemed safer to keep the more personal aspects of their relationship private, for numerous reasons.

It didn't make things any easier for Rinoa, however. She was very aware of Squall, standing apart from the crowd, socializing as little as possible…. in other words, behaving as his normal self…before he'd met her. Even with her shields firmly up, she could still sense his discomfort.

She watched as his gaze tracked toward the Ragnarok. _He wants to leave,_ she thought. She didn't blame him. Things like this were tiresome even to people who _enjoyed_ social interaction. For someone like Squall, it was tantamount to torture. She wished she could go with him, or, since that was not possible, at least say goodbye to him in private. But fate, in its infinite cruelty, would give her neither option. She hoped he would understand. She prayed to Hyne that she would not hurt him too badly if he did not.

Squall endured the prattling from the military brass present, representing the Galbadian Army, the intrusive, annoying questions from the press, and the aggravating bullshit from the legal counsel from both sides, for as long as he could stand before he simply had enough and had to leave. Catching first Zell's eye, then Selphie's, he gestured silently toward the Ragnarok: _Let's go._ They both nodded in acknowledgment and began taking their leave.

He didn't make any such silent gesture to Rinoa though; instead, he approached the knot of humanity that she was in the midst of. He automatically took note of those present: Zone and Watts of course, the mayor of Timber and a couple of senior council members, General Caraway and a few of his advisors. Noted, assessed their threat level as nominal, and focused on Rinoa.

"Rinoa," He said, carefully formal but not caring in the least that he'd interrupted a conversation in progress. "My SeeDs and I are leaving now. Is there anyplace that you would like us to take you to?" _Are you coming with me?_

_Please Squall, not like this…_ "No. I am…. returning to Galbadia with…. General Caraway." She took a deep breath, surprised that she'd managed to keep her voice so steady and…remote.

She wanted to weep as he froze, staring at her for several heartbeats, his expression carefully blank but his eyes alive with pain. It washed over her, battering her even through her defenses. Shock, betrayal, disappointment…. and anger. Then…it shut down. Completely. _He_ shut it down. And just like that, she could sense nothing more from him. Suddenly, she wanted to be sick. _I'm sorry! I had to! I had no choice! Please forgive me!_ She shouted to him mentally, knowing that he could not hear her.

Nodding to her formally, eyes so frosty her heart hurt, Squall said deliberately, "I see. Good-bye, Rinoa Heartilly." Then he turned on his heel and stalked away, back rigid.

He hadn't worn his uniform. No medals, or designations of rank. He wore the clothing that he'd been wearing all along, appearing amongst the Timber delegation as one of them. Still, as he walked away, his manner and bearing had every bit the dignity that her father had whilst in full formal uniform. She wondered if the old bastard would see that.

Then a horrible thought struck her and she had to leave, she just couldn't…

"I'm sorry, I'm not feeling well," she whispered, not caring that as far as excuses go, it was as weak and transparent as the champagne that was being served. Ignoring concerned questions from Zone, Watts, and the others present, she fled the portico and somehow, despite being blinded by tears by this point, managed to find a restroom that was thankfully unoccupied.

Once there, she collapsed into tears, weeping uncontrollably.

"He said good-bye! Oh, Gods! He said good-bye!" she whispered brokenly. She didn't remember who'd told her about that SeeD tradition. It might have been Selphie, or perhaps Zell. She only knew that it wasn't Squall that had told her.

SeeDs considered it bad luck to say _good-bye_ , lest that be a final epitaph.

* * *

"What…just happened?" Watts asked Zone in confusion as Rinoa fled. The other people present murmured not-really-concerned comments then drifted off in the general direction of the bar…all except General Caraway, who was staring after Rinoa, scowling.

Zone, frowning as well, shook his head, "I don't know…But I'm very interested in finding out. Come on."

He turned to leave, but General Caraway's authoritarian voice stopped him, "Send her back to me when you find her."

"All right. When I find her." Zone nodded and jerked his head for Watts to follow.

When they had gotten out of earshot, Watts said, "I don't understand. I thought…"

"Me too. And apparently, so did Squall." Zone said. Zell had been right, though at the time Zone had thought it strange that Squall's fellow SeeD should know so much about him. If you _really_ wanted to know what the SeeD Commander was feeling, you had to see his eyes. Not even _he_ could hide everything he felt.

He didn't want to sympathize with the SeeD. That was the _last_ thing he wanted to do, and not just because he was pretty sure the guy would rather see him dead first. But the utterly bleak look in Squall's eyes had hit him like a blow to the gut. He'd seen that look before. In Rowan's eyes, as she lay dying in his arms.

Rinoa had mortally wounded Squall and Zone had no idea why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, of COURSE its not going to end like THIS! There's more to this story than I'd originally thought when I started out. I just kept plugging along the rabbit hole, writing down stuff that intrigued me, and here we are with thirty-plus chapters, my longest story to date. I MAY have one or two more chapters left, but this is pretty much the end here, just tying up loose ends.
> 
> And don't worry about our lovebirds, they won't be separated for very long. Stay tuned for more stuff...(just keep writing, just keep writing...)


	31. Ring the Bells

They returned to Timber hailed as heroes. People turned out in the streets cheering, throwing confetti, blowing horns; they were nearly mobbed coming off the train at the Timber station. It was all a bit overwhelming to both Zone and Watts, and to a certain extent even the mayor and the rest of the delegation.

For one thing, Zone didn't feel that he'd actually _done_ anything. He'd followed where Squall had led, implemented the plans that Squall had made…. In short, he felt like a useless figurehead while the _true_ heroes in the conflict, the SeeDs, had simply melted into the shadows. It seemed horribly unfair, though intellectually he knew that that was what SeeDs _did_ ; they did their jobs and moved on, letting people like _him_ have the accolades.

He knew that the work of reconstructing Timber was just beginning; the treaty that they'd just signed was useless if they couldn't finish what the war had begun. Timber needed a new government as soon as possible, to stabilize the country and provide a leader to unite the citizens and get everyone to work toward the common good.

The way he'd managed to get the resistance factions to work together to liberate Timber with the help of the SeeDs. No, he wasn't done yet. Not by a long shot. He sent a silent apology to his father's spirit, hoping he'd understand if the workshop went unused for a while longer while he helped get things sorted.

The celebration raged the entire day, growing increasingly more chaotic as evening approached. Zone and Watts had spent a good part of it in the convivial atmosphere of the pub, where it seemed the bulk of Timber's population had decided to gather. He and Watts had each had more than a couple of beers apiece; the pub owner wasn't paying attention to ages, just this once, and Zone was eighteen anyway.

"You remember what we talked about, when we first got rollin' with this, right?" Watts was asking, voice slightly slurred.

"Yeah. The bells." Zone answered.

"Well, it's all done now. We need to ring 'em." Watts declared.

"Yeah, we do. Let's go." Zone agreed, getting up.

They said their good byes to the crowd and made their way to the church, both feeling the drink they'd imbibed but not too worse for wear. They at least managed to walk _mostly_ steadily to the church.

They paused a moment upon entering the crumbling edifice, and gazed up through the shattered roof at the blaze of gold and crimson across the sky, fire trails left by the dying sun.

Without speaking to each other, they both picked their way through the debris to the hatch that led to the bell tower. Someone, perhaps in anticipation of this moment, had reattached the rope that would pull down the hatch and extend the ladder that led up to the carillon itself.

Gazing upward at the dusty timbers, it was difficult to see details in the dimming light, and Zone wondered briefly if they shouldn't postpone this until he could get a better look at them. It had after all been nearly twenty years…of weathering by the elements let in by the damaged roof, of termites, rot, and just plain age. It was a real possibility that ringing these bells _now_ , without taking some precaution and shoring up the supports, could end up being the last time they rang at all.

Then Watts grabbed the rope and hauled on it, and Zone, without even thinking further about it, grasped it above his hands and lent his strength to pull the ladder down. It didn't move. Not at first. It took a good bit of pulling and swearing, and the evaporation of the beery buzz both young men had going on, before it finally relented with a creaky groan.

"What are you two hoodlums getting up to now?" an acerbic elderly voice demanded from the shadows.

Both Watts and Zone flinched from reflex, caught it and laughed. Gram laughed too at their reactions.

"It's over Gram. We've won. Timber's free." Watts said, approaching her and grabbing both hands, eyes shining. In all the stress and fuss about setting up the official meeting, drawing up the treaty, Timber's charter, negotiating reparations from Galbadia, and getting it all signed and recognized, neither young man had actually had time to really _think_ about what they'd accomplished. Only now, in a quiet, ruined church with his brother and his gram, did it finally dawn upon Watts what it all actually meant.

"We're ringin' the bells, Gram." Zone said firmly.

"You too delinquents are drunk, aren't you?" the old lady asked, crossing her arms firmly, a severe expression on her face.

Both young men started laughing again, recalling similar situations from their younger days. Ol' grammie was still pretty darned intimidating, Zone thought with amusement.

"Uh," Zone and Watts exchanged a guilty glance. "Kind of. Maybe."

"And you fools didn't think to invite me? Shame on you!" Gram admonished, approaching them and studying the lowered ladder critically.

"Ahh…" Watts began, glancing over at Zone who shrugged unhelpfully.

"Umm.." Zone cleared his throat and tried again. "Well…uh…"

The old lady started laughing again, saying, "Relax boys. I think you're entitled to cut loose, just this once. And I'm old enough to find my own amusements. So," she peered up the ladder and into the dark space that it led to. "Either of you think to bring a light?"

"Shit." Watts swore. Zone smacked his forehead with a groan. This venture was obviously not very well thought out…which seemed to hold true for most ventures fueled by alcohol.

"Don't worry. I brought one. Stumbling around in the dark isn't something I care to do. Last thing I need is to fall and break a hip. Might as well shoot me if that happens." Gram said, fishing a large flashlight from her purse and turning it on.

Setting a foot on the bottom of the stairs, Gram said, "you might want to cover your ears, boys."

Before she placed her weight on the step, Zone said, "If it feels at all unstable up there Gram, you come right back down."

She met their eyes and nodded, "Will do. Better I go up than you though… should hold my weight better than yours if it is unstable. Besides," she added. "Neither of you boys even knows how to work this thing. _I_ do." With that, she climbed the steps confidently and disappeared into the darkness above.

Watts and Zone exchanged a chagrined look as she climbed. _Another_ thing they hadn't considered.

"Rinoa should be here," Zone said softly.

"I know. I wish she was." Watts replied. They still didn't know why, but Rinoa said she'd explain when she had a chance. He hoped she'd keep in touch. Then the first bell pealed out and they forgot everything else…except Gram's admonition to cover their ears, which they did belatedly.

It only muffled the sound, which shivered through them and pressed against their skins like a living thing. It washed over them, and the sheer _volume_ of the tones nearly swept away the melody that Gram was playing. The great bells shouted, pealed, crashed and laughed for joy…that was the only way that the music being played could be described. It was at once frightening, exhilarating and awe-inspiring. Fit for a King to hear, fit to be played in honor of a God.

They echoed, reverberating throughout Timber, stunning its citizens into silence and halting all celebrations while everyone simply stood and listened. Tears fell from the eyes of those who remembered them in the days before Galbadia's invasion, and with every peal of the bells, came the joy that had been missing for so long from Timber.

Timber's heart was beating again.

* * *

Squall's heart was still beating. By that, he could be reasonably certain that he was in fact, still living. He didn't feel like it. He felt dead inside. Numb. Empty. As if anything of any worth that he'd had within him had been scooped out with a dull spoon. He was walking, talking, breathing…but he was not alive.

Squall sipped at his coffee and opened his email. He read through the various reports and inquiries that he had been sent, answering and filing them. He'd caught up on his backlogged work within days of returning from Timber, debriefing with Cid, Quistis and Xu almost immediately. He threw himself into his work, focusing on _that_ , in an effort to distract himself from the pain that left him feeling hollow inside.

It did not go unnoticed.

Indeed, the moment he'd walked into the Ragnarok alone and ordered them to leave Dollet in a cold, dead voice, all of his friends had known _something_ had gone wrong. He'd rebuffed all efforts to discover what it was though, with his customary silence coupled with an icy stare. If that didn't work, he'd simply walk away. He supposed Quistis in particular found that frustrating. She'd tried more than once to analyze him into discussing it with her, to no avail. He wouldn't, _couldn't_ tell her or anyone else what had happened because he simply didn't know.

When he wasn't in his office, he was in the Training Center, venting his frustration, anger and pain upon the hapless creatures there. And while it was painfully obvious to everyone that Squall was dealing with a profound case of heartbreak, he did so in a completely unique manner.

For one thing, he didn't hide in his room, listening to sappy songs, nor did he stop eating, showering, or going to work. He didn't get drunk and morose, didn't engage in any _overtly_ self-destructive behavior, and he most certainly did not seek out _any_ company…. of any kind.

But he _did_ withdraw completely, interacting with people only when he had to, and only in the context of work. He took care of himself physically, but only from ingrained habit, the way one would care for a weapon…and for the exact same reason. So, he ate regular meals, exercised…a lot… and slept as much as he was able to, which unfortunately was nowhere near as much as he needed.

He found it extremely ironic that at first, he had difficulties sleeping _with_ Rinoa and now, was encountering the same problem _without_ her.

So, while he continued to function in his usual manner as commander, he was just going through the motions. Like nothing really mattered to him anymore, including his life. It was a dangerous mindset for a SeeD to have, unless he didn't want to live long. Fortunately, there weren't any requests for SeeD assistance at the moment, and Cid, along with Quistis and Dr. Kadowaki, had already decided that Squall would not be sent on assignment until they were sure that he was…safe.

His response to their pronouncement was an indifferent, "whatever."

The phone rang and Squall answered it curtly, "Leonhart."

"Hello commander, this is Simon Reid from…" Squall sighed as the man blathered on, trying to convince him to schedule an interview, on camera, with Dollet's local news program to speak about the Sorceress War, Timber's liberation, his involvement in both and what he thought about it.

"No." Squall said flatly, hanging up the phone. He wasn't interested in rehashing those events. Let the others tell the story. He couldn't care less.

He returned to his work, half of which was just him figuring out exactly what he was supposed to be doing as commander in the first place. Review reports from active SeeDs out on assignment? Check. Schedule debriefing interviews for SeeDs returning from assignments and filing their reports? Check. Busywork, really. But it _did_ pass the time. The day's end came sooner than he thought it would.

He'd just stood up, intending to put away the stack of files he had on his desk when the door to his office opened. He didn't bother looking up to acknowledge whoever had entered, though he could guess who it was.

"Yes?" he asked, opening a drawer to a nearby filing cabinet.

"You look tired." Quistis said.

Squall shot her an irritated look, then returned to what he was doing. "Is that what you came in here to tell me? I have a mirror."

"Squall..."

"Is there something specific that you want Quistis?" Squall asked her curtly, cutting her off.

Quistis exhaled explosively through her nostrils, doing her best to calm her rising temper. Yes, she could tell he was hurting but he was also being a larger than usual ass.

Narrowing her eyes, she folded her arms firmly across her chest and answered, "right at the moment I want to slap you upside the head."

Squall snorted briefly and locked the filing cabinet, returning to his desk to shut down his computer. "Take a number."

Quistis shook her head. Squall spoiling for a fight was a rather unsettling concept. She knew exactly how much time he'd spent in the training center lately; if Seifer challenged him to a duel _now_ , Squall would have him dead in a heartbeat. She studied him covertly, noticing that he'd lost weight, despite having been very conscientious about not missing meals. He simply worked it off, honing himself exactly like he honed Lion Heart's blade.

He was one of the best SeeDs that Balamb Garden had, and he was far too dangerous to send _anywhere_. Not if they wanted him to return.

Squall had finished shutting down and was heading for the door. As he walked past Quistis, she reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him. He stopped but didn't turn to look at her.

"What?" he asked coldly.

"Call her. You didn't give up on her before. Don't give up on her now." Quistis said softly.

Squall swallowed and dropped his gaze to his feet. He'd wanted to. Every damn day since they'd gotten back from Timber, he'd stared at his damn phone, picked it up….and set it back down again. He didn't know how to reach her now; calling General Caraway directly and asking to speak with his daughter was…inadvisable, and he didn't know of any other way to reach Rinoa. And even if he did….

"I can't." Squall said, pulling out of her grasp and walking out the door.

Quistis' final comment to him echoed in his mind the entire way back to his room. _Don't give up on her now…_ He didn't want to, but he didn't see where he had any choice. Not when Rinoa herself had essentially severed their relationship…. in public.

Upon reaching his room, he changed out of his uniform, intending to spend the remainder of his time in the Training Center. He still didn't know what had happened, why Rinoa had done that. He couldn't think of anything that he might have done, though he acknowledged that he was more than a little clueless about a lot of things when it came to relationships with people. And…. Yeah, they should have talked more about what they would do when it was all over. Somehow, he could never bring himself to broach the subject.

He was both a coward and a fool.

He'd been so lost in the shock and betrayal of losing her, so lost in his own pain; he'd been unable to do much more than focus on the day-by-day routine of work. He'd been unable and unwilling really, to think back to that day and view the events objectively.

He knew of one person who could help him with that, if he wanted to. All he had to do was call her.

But, did he _really_ want to know what Rinoa's thoughts were, that fateful day? He wasn't sure. What if…. what if that was what she'd wanted? Squall stopped and rested his hand against the bark of a large tree in the Training Center, unwillingly recalling his last sight of Rinoa. Remembering, vividly, the glitter of unshed tears in her eyes and the slight tremor in her voice. What if it _wasn't_ what she'd wanted? Then why would she do that in the first place? He'd gone round and round with it mentally, and had gotten nowhere.

Rinoa was the only person who could answer those questions. Getting those answers…well, ideally, he had to talk to her. If he couldn't do that, Ellone could help him, like she'd helped him once before. He felt a little uncomfortable about using that route however, because he wouldn't actually be talking to Rinoa so much as reliving past events through her eyes, and hearing her thoughts, in order to determine what had made her feel that she had to return to Galbadia. He wasn't sure he could handle it if he learned she'd actually _meant_ to leave him.

He frowned fiercely and balled his hand into a fist, bashing it against the tree. The shock traveled up his arm, but fortunately the leather glove protected his skin. He felt it though, deep in his bones. A deep ache, not unlike his bruised heart. He wouldn't believe it; not if those unshed tears were any indication. And how she'd been…. almost desperate… in the days leading up to the meeting in Dollet.

He should have paid closer attention. He should have _talked_ to her about the elephant in the room that they'd both done too good a job of ignoring. He should have….

He should have fought for her.

He was a SeeD. Finding people was part of his job. Finding HER would be dead easy. He thought about the time that had passed…too much time. They were days away from a new semester starting at Garden. When he really began to reckon exactly _how_ long it was…nearly three months… he swallowed in chagrin and cursed himself for a fool once again. He'd been hurting so badly that he was barely functional but he didn't allow that as an excuse. She had to be hurting too.

He wondered if that was why she had never tried to call _him_. Then another possibility, one dredged up by something that Quistis had told him concerning her part of the assassination attempt on Sorceress Edea in Deling City, came to mind. What if Rinoa wasn't _able_ to call him? What if General Caraway had succeeded in locking her away "for her own good"?

That thought brought a warm rush of anger, and he welcomed the surge of grats converging upon him. Raising his gunblade, he charged into the pack, slashing about and cutting bits off with every attack. The questing tentacles wavered toward him in an effort to retaliate, but he ducked and hacked them off. The end result was about dozen or so grats scattered in pieces throughout the Training Center, and Squall, hot and sweaty, needing both a shower and dinner.

While he was showering, drying off and getting dressed, Squall began thinking about how he might get to Galbadia and to Rinoa. If nothing else, just to speak with her. He started packing after dinner.

* * *

"Fall semester's starting soon Rinoa. You need to get back in school." General Caraway said sternly at breakfast. Not much change from how he'd always been, which made Rinoa wonder more than once exactly why he'd insisted she come back home with him.

Probably so that he could keep an eye on her, keep her out of trouble…. keep her from embarrassing him as he tried on his new role of political statesman. She acknowledged that it had to be supremely uncomfortable to have your own child working against you on behalf of a full-blown insurrection. She understood why he'd kept her part in it as quiet as possible, and her out of the public eye as much as possible as well. You couldn't play off her involvement in the Timber Revolt as garden-variety teenage rebellion after all.

And she'd unwillingly given up her freedom, her friends, and Squall, as a sacrifice for Timber's independence. That was the price her father had demanded that she pay, that and her silence. She could tell no one of those terms, they were between her and Caraway.

In a sense, she was a political prisoner, her freedom a ransom for Timber's. Or so she had felt for the first month or so. Indeed, she was under constant guard, particularly if she ever left her father's home to venture into Deling City. More than once, after having seen the still shaky peace that now reigned there, Rinoa had actually been thankful for their presence. Deling City was still too unstable to be completely safe. She felt very odd that her perception of her guards now had changed; she viewed them now more as protectors than jailors.

Rinoa sighed at his pronouncement, delivered as an order, like she was one of his soldiers. Or again, his prisoner.

"Which school?" she asked without much interest. Not public school, she figured that much out already. It would probably be one of the boarding schools he'd sent her to in the past.

Caraway studied her for a moment; Rinoa felt as though he was assessing her abilities as a soldier, and wondered at that. He knew now, all the details of her involvement not only in the attempt on Sorceress Edea's life, but in the battle with Ultimecia as well. That had gained her some respect from him in the context of her abilities as a fighter.

" _You've learned more than a little from your SeeD friends. Not surprising. I never thought you were stupid. Headstrong and impulsive, but not stupid."_ He'd told her.

"I think your abilities might be better realized in a military school. It's become clear to me now that you need the discipline such an environment can provide." He answered.

Rinoa stared at him. " _Military_ school? Which one?" she demanded.

He ignored the question and said, "Everything's been arranged. You leave for Balamb tonight. Be prepared."

Rinoa's eyes widened in shock. _Garden. He was sending her to Balamb Garden._ It had to be. There was only _one_ military school in Balamb, and Garden was it. She swallowed. Squall. She would see Squall again. And…. would he even _want_ to see her? The way they'd parted, with Rinoa unable to even explain why…she didn't think so.

Taking a shaky breath, she nodded her head, "okay." She turned away and ran up the stairs to her bedroom, completely missing her father's start of surprise at her response.

Somehow, she would _make_ Squall see her, talk to her. He was her knight. He'd _promised_. She would remind him of that promise, and make one to him in turn: she would do her best never to hurt him like that again.

* * *

He didn't pack much. He wasn't planning on staying long, and he certainly wasn't going to simply walk up and knock on the front door. He wasn't even sure if Rinoa was staying in the Caraway Mansion or in the more secure Presidential Palace, now that Caraway had taken power. That made this more like a reconnaissance mission and less like a visit to his girlfriend.

As far as work went, just this once, it could go hang. With any luck, he could be back before morning anyway, with no one the wiser. So all he did was bring his gunblade and ammo, some gil and a few other things he'd need and boarded the train out to Deling City.

The current intel they had on Galbadia and Deling City in particular indicated that while the situation had stabilized, it was far from completely safe. Which made Squall wonder at Rinoa's decision to go back there, and at Caraway's decision to allow it. If the man had worried so much for his daughter's safety that he'd actually _locked her up_ , why would he even want her back there? Unless, again, he wanted her under his eye as well as his protection.

Squall considered and discarded multiple scenarios the entire way there until he finally came up with a workable battle plan. He'd gain access to the Caraway Mansion first to see if Rinoa was there and if so, to attempt to make contact with her. If she were not there, then he'd try the Presidential Palace. In each case, he'd be attempting access to highly secure areas with the added restriction of _not_ killing anyone that he encountered. So thinking, he'd stocked up on silence, blind and sleep spells. With any luck, no one would even know he'd been there.

Upon exiting the train, Squall did his best to blend into the crowd and appear inconspicuous. Martial Law had been lifted, but that didn't mean that it was safe or advisable to be out after dark. Everywhere he looked were signs of damage from the riots. There was also evidence of repair in progress, which was encouraging.

There was a great deal of police presence, but _city_ police, not military police. Another encouraging sign of Deling City's recovery.

He cut through the park, keeping to the shadows, avoiding populated areas so as to avoid being seen and possibly recognized. A precaution he was highly annoyed at having to take, but there wasn't anything he could do about the news articles and photographs that had come out about the Timber Rebellion and the Second Sorceress War, as they were calling it. An enterprising photojournalist had taken a series of pictures of the Timber delegation as they'd arrived in Dollet, and he had been clearly identifiable in the photo. It had caused a sensation in Balamb and Trabia, and no end of annoyance for him.

Things got a bit trickier as he approached Caraway's mansion. It was heavily guarded, so it was difficult to determine if he was in residence there or if it was meant to _appear_ that he was in residence. And even if _he_ was there, that didn't mean that Rinoa would be also. Still, nothing for it but to look, and this was the most logical place to start.

Gaining entrance to the grounds was easy enough. He had to hide in the shadows of the wall and wait a bit, watching the movements of the guards, before he took his next course of action. Quietly casting triple on himself, he focused upon the three closest guards, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Padding silently from the shadows, he waited until he was in range, then cast sleep on all three of them. As they fell to the ground, he sprinted to the house, flattening himself against the wall and looking right and left, while listening for anything that might indicate that he'd been seen.

When all remained quiet, he edged along the wall toward the back of the manor and peered around the corner, marking the guards stationed there and patrolling that area of the grounds. Too many, and too scattered. He could take out three at once with a sleep spell, but there were others that weren't in range that might see him. He frowned, chewing at his lower lip as he puzzled out how he might deal with them in a non-lethal manner.

Looking down at his feet, he found a large rock. Picking it up, he scanned the back garden a few meters away, and chucked it toward the back wall. It hit with a satisfying clatter, and he crouched against the side of the house, feeling very exposed, despite his dark clothing and the even darker shadows he was hiding in. Two of the soldiers guarding the grounds came to investigate, and he quickly cast first blind, then sleep. They fell without so much as a sigh, to lie concealed by the garden foliage. Returning his attention to the soldiers closer to the house, Squall worked his way toward them.

He quickly cast sleep as soon as he was in range. As they collapsed, he ran at the house and leaped upward, grabbing a piece of decorative scrollwork and hauling himself upward. It wasn't easy, but the design of the house made it possible for him to free climb up to a second floor balcony. Hauling himself up and over, he dropped softly into the balcony itself and crouched in the shadows, breathing hard.

The room beyond was dark, the doors leading into it locked. He picked the lock and entered the room cautiously, padding quietly through the room, all senses tuned to detect anyone's presence. All he heard was silence; all he smelled was the closed-in musty scent of a disused room. He paused at the doorway, crouching low next to it, and closed his eyes for a moment to dredge up what he remembered of the home's floor plan.

It had amazed and actually frightened him a little how easily he'd been able to pull it up online. In moments, he had the entire layout of the house. It had actually made him wonder if he shouldn't try the palace first, but he decided to go ahead with checking the mansion. The palace was larger and would take much longer to search.

All of the bedrooms were on the second floor, and Squall had no idea which, if any of them, were occupied and by whom. It was late at night, past midnight, in fact. Anyone home _should_ be asleep. And if the place was unoccupied, there shouldn't be any guards _in_ the house.

Reaching up, he slowly, carefully, opened the door and paused, listening hard for any sound. Hearing nothing, he peered around the edge of the doorway and into deep darkness. He knew from the floor plan that there was a hallway that ran the width of the house. Two master bedrooms were in the front, each with a balcony facing the front garden and the city park. There were four smaller bedrooms facing the rear of the house, two with balconies and two with simple casement windows. He had entered the bedroom on the rear corner. Directly opposite him should be one of the master bedrooms.

One of them might be Caraway's room. If he had to guess on the probable occupant of the other, he would say Rinoa. He scanned the hallway for any light or indication that someone was awake, and saw nothing. Slowly, carefully, he stood and, hands outstretched, walked toward where he thought the door to the master bedroom might be, leaving the door behind him open.

His night-vision was actually pretty good but there was _no_ light whatsoever, so he concentrated upon his other senses: hearing, scent, touch, to compensate. Three paces forward, and his fingers touched wooden paneling. He let them trail downward until he found the chair rail molding, using that as a guide to the doorframe. Then he trailed his fingers across the door to the knob.

He tested it, found it unlocked and slowly turned it. He pushed it open carefully, letting a quiet breath of relief when the door swung in without a sound. Reaching out, he found the doorframe and flattened against the wall, cautiously craning his head around and into the room. The darkness beyond had an almost physical quality, thick, oppressive and heavy. He heard nothing from the blackness; the room was empty. Taking a deep breath, he caught a faint but recognizable whiff of cologne and identified the room's owner: Caraway.

He eased the door shut and felt his way down the hallway toward the other master bedroom, hoping that it was Rinoa's. He stopped abruptly though, heart in his throat, when the wall ran out and he suddenly encountered empty space. He took a deep breath. The central staircase. Of course. He listened intently for a moment, hearing nothing but the not-quite silence of a still living house. It was unoccupied for the moment, but it was maintained and lived in, and had been for decades. It still had the residual feeling of "life" about it that homes tended to acquire after they'd been lived in awhile.

Squall made his way across the empty space, finding the banister and following it to the wall. Locating the chair rail, he continued along the wall to the next door. It too was unlocked, and the room was also empty. But, like Caraway's room, a hint of scent gave him a clue of this room's erstwhile occupant: Rinoa. But the room was musty and unaired; she had not occupied it in some time. Squall stepped into the room and softly closed the door behind him, knowing he couldn't risk a light but suddenly wishing that he could see the room.

He wondered if it would be all pink and frilly like the room that she'd had on the Forest Owls' train. Full of stuffed animals, photos of her mother perhaps, photos of her and her parents together. Angelo would have a basket next to the bed, he was sure. Maybe she'd have a desk, a bookcase, a chest of drawers…a night table with a lamp, a diary, a pen…. It would have everything in it that a little girl could possibly want; and nothing, save her companion Angelo, that she'd actually _need_.

She wouldn't have left it behind without a second thought otherwise.

Standing alone in Rinoa's bedroom, Squall suddenly missed her with a keen ache. Swallowing, he made his way out of the room, carefully, methodically checking the other rooms and finding them empty as well. At length, he ended up in the room he'd started in, and exited the home the way he'd come in.

It was actually easier to get into the presidential palace; Squall already knew how, he'd done it before. Squall searched it as thoroughly as he could…but he was running out of time and sleep spells, and still had not found her. He finally called a halt to his nocturnal activities when the sky began to lighten, indicating dawn's approach. He made his way to the Deling City train station, aching from fatigue and defeat, slumping down into the seat when the train boarded.

Closing his eyes, he massaged his temples, wondering what to do next. He'd have to go to work as soon as he returned to Garden. There would be no sleep for him today. But that was the rule lately rather than the exception, so he doubted that anyone would notice.

He'd need a day to rest and recover, and maybe perform a little bit more electronic reconnaissance, to see if he could confirm Rinoa's actual location. Then he'd try again. He'd keep trying until he found her.

Three hours later, he was exiting the elevator and heading toward his office, coffee in hand and neatly attired in his uniform, just as he'd always done. Aside from his reddened eyes, there were few signs of his activity the previous night. He greeted Xu, Quistis and Nida distractedly, neither knowing nor caring if they noticed how exhausted he sounded.

He signed into his email and checked his messages, both email and voicemail. He sighed in exasperation at the voice message left by Laguna Loire. As the message ended, Squall scowled at his phone, his feelings decidedly mixed by both the message and its sender.

He wasn't ready yet, to speak to the man who claimed to be his father. Not yet. But he _could_ send a message back to him in return.

Picking up his phone, he dialed Dr. Kadowaki.

When she answered Squall said, "Dr. Kadowaki, I need you to help me with something. Do you have some time today?"

"What is it that you need Squall?" she asked him.

"I need to have some blood samples drawn and sent to Esthar for DNA testing." He answered.

"Yours?" she asked.

"Yes."

"I have a few minutes after lunch. Say, one thirty? Make sure you drink plenty of water in the meantime." She advised him.

"Thank you doctor. See you at one thirty then." He hung up the phone, and then returned his attention to his computer, intending to start drafting the message that would accompany the blood samples. Before Squall could even begin to accept the fact that his father was in fact Laguna, he had to have concrete proof. DNA analysis was as concrete as one could get.

As he began typing the missive that he would send to Laguna via courier, he realized that it could come off as somewhat callous. Of course, the fact that he really didn't care overmuch if he hurt Laguna's feelings or not played a large part in that.

"Squall?"

He looked up at Quistis' question, saving his message, before answering, "Yes?"

She hesitated a moment, then took a deep breath and said, "Squall, the fall semester is starting tomorrow…." Her voice trailed off at Squall's cool regard. Hyne, what if he…?

"And? Isn't Headmaster Aki doing the intake interviews?" he asked.

"Yes…but we thought it would be a nice touch if the SeeD Commander took the new students on a quick tour of Garden." Quistis answered, biting her lip, hoping she wasn't being too obvious.

"Really?" he asked in a flat voice, staring her down, his icy gaze sending chills down her spine. Despite having seen it hundreds of times, it still affected her. Nobody could do "death glare" better than Squall could.

Quistis nodded. "These are…tuition paying students, Squall. Children of potential clients."

"So it's good business if I whore myself out for Garden? Don't I already do that?" he asked her indifferently, turning back to his computer.

"No, you don't, and that's not what this is about anyway." Quistis defended, crossing her arms across her chest. "It's not like you have to wrangle a whole classroom full of junior cadets. Only one of them has arrived so far, and will be here soon. So, take a few minutes and give this student the tour. Please."

Glancing up at her again, Squall frowned and sighed in exasperation, "Whatever. Send him in then."

"Thank you!" Quistis said happily and left.

Squall shook his head in irritation. He wondered if the kid was another Trabian train-wreck like Selphie. Well, just showing him around garden shouldn't take too long and it would at least get him out of the office for a bit. So thinking, he dove back into his work.

He didn't bother looking up when the door opened again and the student entered, instead saying, "just have a seat for a minute and we'll get going."

Silence stretched, and Squall didn't hear the chair opposite his desk being moved. He _did_ hear the student take a deep, trembling breath, and he responded, "Look, just relax. I'm not going to bite y…" the words died on his tongue when he finally looked up and met the watery brown gaze of the girl standing in the middle of his office.

"Rin?" he whispered, staring in disbelief. She nodded, lips trembling and eyes filling with tears.

He didn't remember standing or coming around his desk to stand face to face with her. He couldn't resist the need to be near her any more then he could resist the air he breathed. He wanted to crush her in his arms, kiss her until they were both senseless, love her until they were exhausted…but he stood frozen, simply staring at her, unsure of what he should do first. Unsure of what he should _say_ first…

Rinoa beat him to it. Taking another trembling breath, she swallowed and whispered, "I…I'm s…sorry Squall." Squeezing her eyes shut, a tear rolled down her cheek as she said in a choked voice, "I'll understand if you don't want to talk to me, or see me. I…I didn't want to hurt you but I didn't have any choice. My father… I _had_ to go back to Galbadia with him. That was his price for Timber's freedom. And…and I couldn't tell…anybody."

Sniffling, she wiped the tear away and looked down, unable to bear his gaze, and continued, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Folding her arms across her stomach she continued softly, "I…I _had_ to see you. I wanted to explain and I wanted to…" she snuffled a bit and took a deep, shaky breath.

Meeting his eyes was hard; Squall's expression was still frozen, but he was watching her with frightening intensity. So much so that Rinoa's heart nearly failed her, fearing that he now viewed her as an enemy. She already knew how well Squall handled betrayal…

"I came here to ask…to _beg_ …your forgiveness." Rinoa said, looking away again. "And to remind you of your promise… and to give you one in return. You pledged to be my knight. You came to me and _gave_ me that, without asking for anything from me. And I selfishly took it, and gave you nothing back."

"Rinoa…" Squall whispered, shaking his head in denial, but subsided when Rinoa held her hand up.

"So I'm going to give you _my_ promise," Rinoa said, voice trembling on the edge of tears. "I promise you that if you'll forgive me for hurting you, I'll never, ever hurt you like that again…"

Squall's lips crushed down upon hers, silencing her while his arms wrapped around her and pressed her close against his body. His kiss was hard, desperate and hungry, and he devoured her mouth until she thought she would die from bliss. She could feel him, trembling from pent-up emotions, emotions that she could sense roiling and rocketing about within him.

Tears flowed freely from her eyes as she kissed him back with just as much passionate abandon as he kissed her, tangling her fingers into his hair while tangling her tongue with his. The kiss gentled to soft pecks when lack of air forced them to part briefly. Then Squall simply held her, caressing her hair, leaning his cheek against it the way he always did; starting a fresh spate of silent tears to track down Rinoa's cheeks. She had missed that one tiny habit of his, and was transported beyond joy at having it back.

Then her heart melted completely when he whispered simply, "I love you."

* * *

Quistis wiped at a stray tear as she watched the scene play out in Squall's office. Rinoa had forgotten to close the door behind her, and Quistis had intended to close it but had instead stood frozen herself, afraid to move or make a sound for fear of interrupting and breaking the mood.

Xu suddenly appeared next to her, expression difficult to decipher but dark eyes glittering with joy. Tilting her head toward the door and raising her eyebrows in inquiry, she mouthed, "Shall I?" Quistis nodded. If Balamb Garden's resident ninja couldn't close a damned office door without the two engrossed lovers noticing, then she wasn't worth her pay.

She shut the door silently and turned to face Quistis, eyes dancing. "Let's go get some lunch and leave these two alone." She invited. Quistis nodded and followed her to the elevator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nope, not QUITE done yet, but...pretty dang close. another chapter or maybe just an epilogue left (undecided as to which...not sure how much writing it's gonna take to wrap this up...). So...enjoy until the next installment...and check out Balamb's Diamond by KingNothing497...sort of a dovetail to this story involving Xu, Quistis, Nida etc and what happens at Garden while Squall and co are in Timber. It's pretty good.


	32. Resetting the Board

"Timber's elected a new president." Kiros said pouring a cup of coffee and bringing it to Laguna, then joining him at his dining room table.

"Thank you," Laguna said accepting the cup. Taking a sip, he frowned, "They certainly didn't waste any time."

"It only seems that way because you haven't been paying attention." Kiros chided him.

"Well, I _have_ been busy," Laguna replied. Then he added, "So, who'd they elect? The resistance leader kid? David Z-something-or-other?"

"Interestingly, no." Kiros sipped at his own coffee and set it down on the table, tenting his fingers and frowning slightly. "When the media asked him about it, he told them he thought he'd do better as an adviser, sort of like a secretary of state, as he put it."

Laguna grunted, "Probably got tired of hearing all the flak about his age. What is he, nineteen? Twenty?"

"Just turned nineteen a couple of weeks ago, according to the bio we managed to dig up." Kiros answered, then, seeing Laguna frown unhappily at this, added, "Don't give me that look. He was potentially the leader of Timber. We needed whatever information we could find out about him to see what kind of person he is, and how best to deal with him, if necessary."

"Well, in that case, I don't blame the kid for trying on a lesser position first." Laguna said with a snort.

"It was actually very shrewd of him. Sometimes more power can be wielded behind the scenes, out of public view. And he _is_ used to that method of operation." Kiros observed.

"Plus he gets what amounts to an internship in running a country. Smart kid." Laguna said, adding. "No doubt he's simply going to wait until his age isn't such an issue."

Kiros nodded, "no doubt. Then of course, there's Galbadia…"

"Yes. Of course," Laguna murmured, sipping his coffee. "How stable have things gotten there, anyway?"

"Well, General Caraway is firmly in control, but so far has been concentrating on rebuilding what Deling and the civil war destroyed. He's got his hands full." Kiros answered.

"So, nobody's really ready for any sort of diplomatic overtures on our part, are they?" Laguna wondered.

Kiros shook his head. "Maybe in a few months' time, when things have had a chance to settle a bit more."

"Who should we approach first, do you think?" Laguna asked.

Kiros frowned thoughtfully, "Good question. I'd say Galbadia first but you don't necessarily want to ignore Timber either. They could be integral to any sort of trade agreement. Perhaps it's best to involve both, but to have Galbadia host any sort of meeting that may take place."

"Not a bad idea…" Laguna said, when his cellphone rang. He frowned while answering, thinking that he still had almost a half-hour before he needed to put in an appearance at the office, and he hadn't left anything undone from the night before that he could recall. So his assistant, who was nearly as bad a nag as Kiros, shouldn't be calling him… _yet_.

"Hello?" he answered, frowning slightly and responding, "Yes, this is President Loire. How can I help you?"

Laguna's face went blank as he listened to whoever was speaking. Kiros watched intently, suspecting the reason for the call.

"So, what you're telling me is that there is no doubt. 99.9% accuracy, right?" Laguna asked the caller slowly. When the answer came he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "Thank you Doctor. Thank you very much. Could you send me a printed copy of that report please? Thanks, I really appreciate it."

Upon disconnecting the call, Laguna simply leaned back in his chair and stared into space, eyes glistening, cell phone pressed against his chest.

"Laguna?" Kiros asked him.

"DNA test results." Laguna answered, taking a shaking breath and swallowing. "I already knew, of course, and you did too, but…"

"But now you have irrefutable proof that _your_ _son_ can no longer deny." Kiros said, smiling kindly at his friend.

"Yes. Yes exactly." Laguna said, and suddenly his face crumpled, "My son. He's _my_ _son_. And he's a complete stranger who thinks I'm a fool." It was almost more than he could bear, recalling the cold contempt in the young man's eyes as he stalked out of the room after Laguna's revelation of his paternity. Even worse was the thought that he'd nearly sent the boy to his death.

_Oh, Gods Raine, please forgive me…_ He didn't think he'd ever forgive himself if anything happened to Squall because of _him_. Kiros' strong hand squeezed Laguna's shoulder, offering his support. Laguna snuffled and wiped his wet cheeks on his sleeve, laughing suddenly at Kiros' long suffering eye-roll and proffered handkerchief.

Kiros waited while Laguna composed himself, then asked, "so, what do you want to do now? Call him?"

He wanted to. Ached to. But Squall wasn't interested in talking to him. Not yet. Maybe not ever. "I don't know," he answered softly. "He likely already knows. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out that a phone call from his long-lost and apparently unlamented father is probably the last thing that Commander Squall Leonhart would want."

"That's probably true." Kiros said, adding, "But I think you should call him anyway. Even if he doesn't talk to you. Even if you end up having to leave a voicemail message. You're not getting any younger Laguna, and his job isn't getting any safer. Someone has to make a move, and that someone has to be you."

"You're right. Of course you're right…" Laguna sighed. Just then his watch chimed the hour and he was assaulted by a mixture of relief, guilt and disappointment. "Duty calls."

Kiros checked his watch and agreed, "It does indeed. But I'll hold your first appointment, if you'd like to make that call."

Laguna studied Kiros, belatedly realizing why he was so insistent upon his calling Squall as soon as possible after receiving the lab results. Because Squall would know that Laguna was aware, and at least an _attempt_ at contact, wanted or not, would almost be expected.

"All right then," Laguna said. He hoped he wouldn't end up a blubbering mess right before his appointment with the Secretary of Defense (or as he joked privately, 'de-fence', owing to that big damn privacy screen that had been erected around the _entire_ _country_ some decades ago).

He stood up, leaving his coffee cup on the table and followed Kiros out of his apartment. Time to go to work.

* * *

Squall leaned against the balcony railing and let the breeze blow his hair back off his face, reveling in its freshness. He would have liked to go down to the Quad; the work crews had done an incredible job on its repair and reconstruction and it was even more beautiful now than it had been before. But for that very reason, he decided instead to come to the little balcony that he'd taken Rinoa to on her first tour of Garden. The quad was far too populated these days for his liking, especially when he was dealing with….

He glanced down at the papers he was holding in his hand; the fax he'd received that morning. Lab results from the DNA test he'd ordered some six weeks ago. It amazed him that a country as technologically sophisticated as Esthar would take _so_ _long_ to do that. At least they were thorough; Dr. Kadowaki had requested some additional tests along with the DNA analysis. Squall had no idea why, but she'd said something about wanting a baseline metabolic panel on file for him. Whatever.

He was playing hooky from work at the moment, but he didn't care. He'd needed some fresh air and some time alone to process the news that the moronic former Galbadian soldier and current president of Esthar _was_ in fact his father. To a 99.999% degree of accuracy. With an error coefficient of .0001%. Or something like that; he glanced down at the report, looking for the error analytics.

He gave it up with an annoyed sigh. It didn't matter. Laguna had told him months ago and Squall simply hadn't wanted to believe it, though the man hadn't had any reason to lie. Now he held in his hand hard, empirical proof that his father was alive and well and running the largest country in the world. And he had no idea what to do, what to think, or what to _feel_ about it. None whatsoever.

So he abandoned all thought and instead gazed out over the view of the Alcauld Plains that Garden's current orientation afforded this particular balcony. The grass had yellowed and gone dormant as fall was now well underway. The breeze had a crisp but not yet cold feeling to it that always said autumn to Squall, and the trees on the slopes of the far off mountains, at least at the lower elevations, were wearing their fall colors. They showed brilliant flashes of yellow, orange and scarlet among the evergreens.

_What now?_ He wondered. Surely Laguna would want to establish some sort of relationship with him, wouldn't he? He'd been pretty persistent in calling Squall after everything was concluded and Ultimecia had been defeated; fortunately Squall had left shortly afterward for Timber to complete that contract. And after his return, he'd submitted the request for DNA analysis. Laguna had been quiet for some time after that. Squall wondered briefly if his curtly worded missive _had_ in fact hurt or offended the man.

Squall frowned in irritation at this train of thought and folded the papers and put them into the breast pocket of his uniform tunic. He felt unsettled and off-balance; everything he thought he knew about himself was wrong, as was everything he'd assumed about the parents he'd never known. It left him in an edgy, annoyed mood, one that he was better off dealing with alone. At least in _his_ opinion. Those that he had to work with may have differing viewpoints, but he rather doubted it.

He already knew it was going to be another night spent cutting a swath through the Training Center as he worked through his pique.

The sound of someone opening the door to the balcony and entering increased his annoyance briefly as he thought of being forced by circumstance to join the human race again. The light footsteps approaching him however were familiar, and his touchiness suddenly faded.

"So _this_ is where you've decided to hide out." Rinoa said, leaning against the railing next to him.

He glanced over at her, but declined comment for the moment. The sight of her in a cadet's uniform, temporary though it was, still jarred him. He was glad she was there, no doubts about that but…it seemed inherently wrong to see his young Sorceress/girlfriend dressed as a SeeD cadet. Fortunately, since she was _not_ a SeeD candidate, and instead was a tuition paying student, she was only required to wear the uniform for her first semester.

Returning his attention to the view, he asked her, "Don't you have a class this hour?"

Rinoa tilted her head, studying him. Her shields were firmly closed, but she still got the impression that something was bothering him. It was what had drawn her to him in the first place.

Finally she answered, "Midterms. I just finished my tests for the morning classes. I'm free until after lunch."

He turned to face her fully, asking her, "Midterms already?"

She nodded ruefully, "Yeah, and since I was fully as busy as you were, I can totally see how you ended up losing track of the semester."

"How'd you do?" He asked her curiously.

"Grades aren't posted until next week, but…I think I did okay." She answered.

Moving closer, she tentatively reached out and took his hand, hoping he wouldn't pull away. Sometimes he did, if he wasn't in the mood for…anyone. He'd mostly worked past his hurt, but Rinoa had lost ground with him and it made her heart ache thinking that she might have lost all the progress they'd made while in Timber. The easy intimacy that they'd once had was gone, and Rinoa didn't know if it was because they were both in Garden now, where the rules were different, or if it was because, somewhere deep down, Squall was still wounded on some level and trusted her less.

He didn't pull away however, and Rinoa didn't bother hiding how happy that made her, letting some of it leak out to help calm and elevate Squall's mood.

Gradually his tension eased and he sighed, turning to lean against the railing again, fingers still laced with hers. The shift in his position, probably planned by him, brought her closer to his body, subtly encouraging her to lean into him. She did, and leaned her head against his shoulder, smiling.

"What brought you out here anyway?" Rinoa wondered.

"I just needed to get out and get some air." Squall answered her, gazing pensively toward the mountains.

Rinoa took in the lovely scenery, the crisp, fresh air, and sighed, "I can see why. It's lovely out."

Squall nodded agreement but remained silent for the moment. Rinoa leaned closer, wanting to slip her arm around his waist, and have his arm come around hers. Wanting more than just _that_ ; they hadn't had much private time together at all, and Rinoa missed it keenly. A few months ago, she would have thought Squall felt the same, but now she wasn't entirely sure…at least not without reading him. And she'd promised both herself and Edea that she would _not_.

She didn't always have to actively read him anyway; she still got a sense of his moods even with her shields up. Edea had told her it was likely their bond; it was almost impossible to block it completely. Very strong emotions at least would still leak through.

It was obvious that he was in the grips of something very profound. Without knowing what it was, there was little that Rinoa could to do help, and getting Squall to tell her about it would be nearly impossible. _If_ there was something that he wanted to talk to her about, he would seek her out. In _that_ respect at least, he was improving.

This, whatever it was that he was wrestling with, was something he was obviously unwilling, perhaps unready, to discuss. Since _discussion_ was not an option at the moment, Rinoa thought that _distraction_ might be a better remedy until he was ready to talk about what was bothering him. And she already knew _exactly_ how to distract him.

Sighing, she leaned in closer and squeezed his hand, lightly caressing his thumb with hers. Squall glanced down at her and met her gaze, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Rin?"

"This is nice," she sighed, not bothering to hide the longing in her voice. "It's been awhile since we were able to just… _be_ … you know what I mean?"

"Yeah. I do. These last few weeks have been pretty busy for everyone." He replied.

Rinoa glanced around, asking, "there are security cameras out here, aren't there?"

"It was a major point of vulnerability in the Garden Battle. Of course there are." Squall answered her, beginning to wonder what she was getting at.

"Do you know where they all are?" she asked.

"I do," Squall answered her warily. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," She answered. "Aside from the cameras, we're totally alone out here. Nobody really uses this balcony, not when the Quad is easier to get to and much nicer, and the secret area is much more secluded and secure." Stepping closer until their bodies were touching, Rinoa slid her arms around his waist, gazing up at him, continuing softly, "I could disable the cameras easily, I could freeze the door shut. We'd have this place to ourselves for as long as we want…"

Understanding dawned, and Squall's expression lightened a bit. But only a little and it was tempered by regret. Rinoa frowned at seeing this and opened her mouth to protest his impending denial, but he stopped her.

Sliding his arms around her waist in return, he shook his head, saying softly, "It's a nice idea but it won't work. The minute the cameras are disabled a SeeD team is scrambled to investigate. I don't think you want them catching us in the middle of…whatever you intend." Rinoa's face fell, tears starting. It had been so long since she'd even _kissed_ him…

"Hey," he said gently, placing his fingers under her chin to tilt her face up, forcing her to look at him. "It's been awhile for me too, Rin. But this isn't the right place for it."

The tears were starting to blur her vision and Rinoa blinked them away, asking shakily, "then where? And when? You can't come to my dorm room because of my roommate, and I can't go to your quarters because of Garden's rules against fraternization between cadets and Command Personnel. And I know you don't want to seem like you're playing favorites with me Squall but…." Her voice faltered, and then she whispered, lips trembling, "I miss you."

Squall's expression softened at this, and his thumb caressed her lower lip, tickling her and making her lick it in reflex. "I miss you too."

"So what do we do then? How do we do this? I love you and I can't even touch you while I'm here?" Rinoa asked him, frustration warring with despair, voice trembling on the edge of tears.

"Come out with me Friday. I'm sorry it's been so long since we've been out together…you've been busy studying; I've been busy working…Not that that's much of an excuse. We'll go to that little seaside café, have dinner, spend the weekend in the Balamb Hotel…" He murmured, caressing her cheek with the back of his fingers while wiping away a stray tear with his thumb, eyes fixed on hers, begging her to understand, before they dropped to her lips. "In the meantime," he whispered. "It's no great secret that I'm dating you. So who gives a fuck if they catch us kissing?" He bent his head toward hers, his intent plain, before pausing with his lips a breath away from hers.

"Let's give the security team something to talk about," he breathed, then settled his lips against hers. He started out lightly, adding more pressure gradually as her mouth softened and opened up, allowing his tongue to enter. His hand drifted back from her cheek, his fingers tangling through her hair as the other hand, splayed at the small of her back, pressed her into his body. Rinoa tightened her arms around him and held on tight, closing her eyes and giving everything she had and everything she was to him. She poured it all into the kiss and Squall moaned deep in his throat in response, all but crushing her in his arms, leaving her no doubts of how badly he wanted her.

It seemed like forever before they came up for air, bodies humming, and hearts pounding heavily in synchronicity.

Squall rested his forehead against hers for a moment, eyes closed, murmuring, "Gods, I love you. More than I thought possible. More than I thought I was capable of. You are my Angel, my heart. I couldn't stop loving you any more than I could stop my heart from beating, my lungs from drawing air. Please, remember that. Because I _will_ be an ass from time to time. I'll try not to be but I won't make any promises that I can't keep…"

"If we can remember to be _kind_ to each other, I think we'll be fine." Rinoa replied gently, stroking her fingers through his hair.

Squall raised his head and gazed down at her, a slow, sweet smile stealing across his lips. Rinoa's heart skipped when she saw it, knowing that smile was for her and her alone.

"Yeah. I think we will." He said. Then his smile changed to a smirk as he looked around, spotting the security cameras, adding, "I'll bet the entire security team is out having a smoke now. That kiss was hot enough that _I_ need a cigarette! I don't even smoke!"

Rinoa laughed at this, then said in mock severity, "You'd better not start!"

Squall shook his head, "Never. I _like_ being able to run all day. Besides, I'm doing the A-level Combine in a few weeks. Last thing I need is to cut my wind by taking up smoking."

"The A-level Combine?" Rinoa asked.

"I'll explain it to you later." Glancing down at his watch, he grimaced, "I'm actually kind of surprised they haven't sent the cavalry after me. I need to get back. And so do you."

Rinoa sighed when he showed her the time, "Yeah, you're right. Well, I hope you have a good day." She turned to leave, but Squall took her hand and pulled her back for another brief but searing kiss.

"I will now. Thank you, Rin." He smiled at her again, and she smiled back.

"You're welcome," she replied, then she turned and left. Squall watched her walk toward the door, deciding then that he rather liked the way she wore her cadet's uniform. Particularly the short skirt. Then he too left the balcony and headed back to his office.

The crackling of the papers in his breast pocket reminded him of why he'd come out there. Shaking his head to himself, he mentally pushed that reminder away, choosing instead to think about Rinoa and their upcoming date that weekend. There would be time enough later to worry and brood about what it all meant for him and Laguna going forward.

For right now however, he had work to do, and SeeDs to command.

* * *

"What do you think Watts? Nice crop of birds, huh?" the young man formerly known by the code name "Shrike", now reverting back to his given name of Dillon, asked. He pulled his broad-brimmed hat lower over his eyes, leaning casually against the fence encircling the chicabo enclosure. Playing up the "hick" image, he had a stalk of straw in his mouth, low-slung, faded jeans, battered boots and a leather vest. His long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

Watts nodded, "yeah. You think you'll have any worth racing?"

"A few," Cyllan, aka "Kestrel" answered. "Skarn did a pretty good job this breeding season. Got a lot of good looking chicabos from him."

Virtually identical to his brother, Cyllan wore his hair in a long braid down his back, and a black tee shirt with his jeans. He also had on sunglasses, obscuring his deep blue eyes. It had always been difficult to differentiate the brothers until one got to know their personalities. Cyllan tended to be the more serious of the two, and if Watts cared to guess, was probably the first born. Neither brother actually knew which had come first however; both parents were dead and their birth certificates had been lost.

"'cept that one," Dillon said, pointing out an odd-looking little chicabo. It was taller than the other chicabos, and had an odd brownish-yellow plumage that appeared moth-eaten. Its head was nearly bald and the base of its neck was ringed about with white feathers, while its eyes and beak were blood red.

"Yikes!" Watts said. "What happened? Did a buzzard jump one of your hens?"

"Nope. That's one of Skarn's, with one of our best hens." Cyllan answered. "He's got a little bit of an ugly duckling thing going on right now but he'll grow out of it."

Dillon squinted and tilted his head sideways for a moment before saying, "You know, he kinda reminds me of someone…"

"Who?" Watts asked, squinting at the little bird as well and seeing nothing more than a weedy looking half-plucked chicabo.

"You remember that SeeD? Squid? Or Squeak…" Dillon paused and scratched his head, appearing to think really hard. "Squawk?" he smirked as Watts snorted and shook his head.

" _Squall_? You think that gawky little bird reminds you of _him_? How?" he asked, curious.

"Yeah. See? He's got those fluffy feathers round his neck like Squawk did. In fact, that's what I'm gonna name him. Squawk Leonhart." Dillon declared, much to his brother's consternation.

"Dill, that _may_ not be a good idea…" Cyllan said in a warning tone.

Watts began laughing, "I can just imagine the look on Squall's face, if he ever finds out you named a chocobo after him. You'd better hope this little guy wins the gold cup in a few years, or you may want to consider going into hiding!"

"I swear Dill, I may have gotten shot in the head, but apparently it was _your_ brains that got scrambled. You really like to play with fire, don't you?" Cyllan said, shaking his head in exasperation.

"What's he going to do, hunt me down? I say bring it! I'll have an arrow through his breastbone before he even knows what hit him!" Dillon said, drawing himself up, eyes flashing challenge.

Cyllan shook his head, muttering, "idiot." Watts started laughing.

"You _do_ realize that you're talking about the same guy that pretty much tore up the entire Galbadian army by himself." He said.

"He _did_?" Dillon asked, eyes wide. "Why don't I remember that?"

"Because you were about a heartbeat away from dead." Cyllan answered quietly. "Rinoa saved your sorry ass." He cleared his throat and suddenly glanced away, eyes bright. Watts glanced from him to Dillon, wanting to say something, but remaining silent. He hadn't known that Dill had been injured.

"She did? Did she kiss me?" Dillon asked, then frowned, "She kissed me, didn't she? And I missed it. Damn!"

Cyllan shook his head, "she didn't kiss you, man." Watts snorted.

Changing the subject, Cyllan asked Watts, "So, what are you up to now? I know you and Zone have been kept hopping since the treaty was signed. I was kind of surprised that he didn't run for president."

Watts shook his head, "he wasn't ready, and neither was Timber. I mean, no matter what he did or didn't do in the war, Dave already knew nobody would take him seriously. He's only just turned nineteen, you know."

"Yeah. Well, what are you guys doing now?" Dillon asked curiously.

"I guess Dave decided to take a page from Squall's book and ended up in an advisory position as Secretary of State." Watts answered.

"What about you?'Cyllan asked.

Watts shrugged, "I dunno. I kinda liked doing what I was doing with the Owls. So, I guess I'll keep doing that."

"What, you mean the information gathering?" Cyllan asked.

"Yeah. The way I figure it, Squall's always going to need intel, and sometimes information is far more valuable than money. Besides, I think I'm pretty good at it." Watts said with a shrug, adding, "I like the traveling too."

"Who's gonna look after your Gram when you're gone Hyne knows where?" Dillon asked him with a concerned frown. He liked the old lady, and had no problems with dropping in on her when he happened to be in Timber. It wasn't as often as he'd have liked; the family ranch was remote and even when Skarn put on his best pace, it was a long ride to Timber.

"Dave said he'd keep an eye on her. And Gram tells me you've been stopping by occasionally too." Watts answered, adjusting the blue bandanna he was wearing on his head.

"Are you gonna be sticking around for a while or are you taking off?" Cyllan asked.

"I'm gonna see what's going on in Deling City. I'm sure there's plenty of stuff goin' on there still that some folks may be interested in." Watts answered.

"I hear it's still pretty dangerous there." Dillon said.

"All the more reason I should be there to keep tabs on it. Any shit looks to be headed our way; Dave'll be the first to know." Watts said.

"Well, watch your back then. That's not a place I'd want to go into alone," Cyllan said seriously.

"Well, having an 'in' with the SeeD Commander has its benefits; he's hooking me up with some operatives in deep cover there. What I don't know about stealth, these guys can teach me." Watts replied.

The twins exchanged a glance, and Cyllan said, "Well, good luck then I guess."

"Thanks, I could use it," Watts said, hitching his backpack higher onto his shoulders. "I'll keep in touch with you guys though. Next time I'm in town I'll buy you both a beer."

Dillon smirked at this and quipped, "I hope you mean a beer _each_."

Watts snorted and retorted, "No. I'm going to make you both share one. I'll get each of you a crazy straw to sip it with."

Dillon guffawed at this, while Cyllan simply shook his head.

"Are you heading out there now?" he asked Watts.

Watts nodded, "yeah. They've got the trains running again, so I'm going back to town and catch the train to Deling City when I get there."

Putting his hand out, Cyllan said, "Well, have a safe trip then." Watts took his hand and shook it then turned to Dillon, who shook his hand as well, saying, "safe travels bro. Take it easy."

"Will do," He replied, turning away and starting his walk back to Timber. He still had to say good-bye to Gram, and Dave as well.

It felt strange to be using Dave's real name again. He and Dave had been "Watts" and "Zone" for more than half their lives it seemed; first in play as children, as they pretended to be resistance fighters who would be heroes for chasing the evil Galbadians out of Timber. Then later in deadly earnest, as they struggled merely to survive while keeping the hope of freedom alive. Now they _were_ the heroes that they'd they'd thought they would be, and this left Watts wondering what to do next.

He knew Dave wanted to reopen his father's wood shop, wanted to try and carry on his legacy, and Watts couldn't fault him for it. And of course, he'd want his brother in all but blood, Ben, to join him in that endeavor. But Watts wasn't ready for it. Maybe he'd never be ready to give up his identity of "Watts" in favor of "Ben". He didn't even know any more, which of those two personae was really _him_.

So, he was taking a trip into a place that still held dangers, and still had the potential for interesting developments for him to observe and report on.

There would _always_ be a need for a good spy….

* * *

Squall unlocked his office and opened the door, returning to work after managing to grab a quick lunch with Rinoa. It was days still until Friday, but those brief meetings for lunch were both the highlight of his day and sheer torture. It was hard to leave her every day to go back to work, but leave he did, and to her credit, Rinoa too applied herself well to her studies despite the distraction that her relationship with Squall provided.

She had confided an interest in working with Dr. Kadowaki at some point, wanting to hone her skills at healing both in magical and in conventional methods. Squall couldn't think of anything better for Rinoa to do. Not only because that was what _she_ wanted to do, but because she could become an even more valuable asset to Garden and SeeD than she already was. It wouldn't hurt the public perception of her as a sorceress either, should it get out that she was in Garden to learn how to use her magic to help and heal, rather than destroy.

The blinking message light on his phone caught his attention as he walked in, and he shut the door behind him. Approaching his desk and pressing the button to play the message, he frowned as he recognized the voice of the caller.

" _Hi Squall..er, I mean, Commander Leonhart. This is Laguna. Um… President Loire. I'm guessing that you got the test results by now. And….well, look. I know this maybe isn't welcome news for you, but I have to be honest, it IS for me. Of course, I knew the moment I laid eyes on you, that you were Raine's son, and by extension, mine as well. There wasn't anyone else for her, after we'd gotten married. Not even after I left her alone for all those months, looking for Ellone. And yes, Squall, we WERE married. Don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise. Anyway, I just wanted to give you a quick call, or maybe not so quick…I can picture you rolling your eyes about now, wishing I'd stop rambling. (pause) I know I wasn't there for you when you were a child and I'm sorry about that. And if you want, we can keep this just between us, nobody else has to know. I promise I won't go shouting it from the rooftops, even though that's exactly what I want to do right now. But I'm putting the ball in your court, son.( long pause) You can have whatever kind of relationship with me that you want. I would like it if we could at least be friends, but I'll be okay with whatever you're comfortable with. No pressure. ( pause) I'd better get going now…but, you can call me any time, if you want to talk. (pause) Take care son."_

The message ended and Squall continued to stand there, staring pensively at the phone. There were no other messages besides that one. Face expressionless, he pressed the delete button on the phone, discarding the message.

Then he finally sat down behind his desk and logged back into the computer, returning to work.

_Fin_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last, it is FINISHED! I often never really know how close I am to done on any given story until I suddenly reach a point where the story just naturally ends. I wasn't sure if I was going to add an epilogue or not, then while writing this chapter, realized that I didn't really need one. everything ties up rather neatly right here, and if you pay close attention, you'll find little bits here and there that hint at later fics. Now then, time to finish my OTHER fics...and work at getting my pesky Plot Bunnies under control...
> 
> By the way, thanks to everyone who've read, reviewed and enjoyed this story. I hope this work, now that I can actually call it COMPLETED, lives up to everyone's expectations.


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